


The Curious Case of Yuuri Katsuki

by athylia



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe- Pokemon, Ensemble Cast, M/M, Pokemon AU, kind of slow burn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-09-14 06:32:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 33,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9166366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/athylia/pseuds/athylia
Summary: There was a man who mounted his Quagsire everyday, swam to Mt. Pyre, and sat there solemnly for hours until it was time to leave. Viktor understood loneliness, maybe not to the amount that the man who was mourning his dead pokemon, but he knew loneliness like an old friend. Being at the top had its disadvantages. The bespectacled man was somewhat similar to him.That is until, he saw the man giving orders to his precious Makkachin and Makkachin actually obeying him. There might be more to Yuuri Katsuki than he thought





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay Makkachin, let’s go for a walk.” Viktor said with a smile as he let his Arcanine out of his pokeball.

Makkachin barked happily and ran for the door while Viktor grabbed his sunglasses, bag, and a hat. He frowned upon realizing that he still looked a bit recognizable but sighed in defeat. Going to Lilycove as the start of his journey seemed good at first. He mulled on how to look more incognito but decided not to anymore since he would only be staying here for three days.

“Be patient Makkachin,” he scolded the large Arcanine and rubbed his fur, to which the pokemon responded to by laying on his belly playfully. “You silly Pokemon you. You must be excited to see Hoenn finally huh?”

Makkachin replied with another bark and ran out the door as soon as Viktor opened it. Viktor groaned and hurriedly locked his room before running after the loose Pokemon. He nodded to the owner of the motel he was staying at and then continued to run. He was glad he decided to wear sunglasses because the moment he stepped out of the motel, he had to shield himself from the sun. One thing he was glad to notice was that even if the sun was blistering hot, the winds were cool. _Ah, the perks of being near the ocean,_ he smiled to himself but his train of thoughts were cut off upon hearing a familiar bark.

There was Makkachin trying to eat some of the berries growing just outside of town.

“No! Bad Arcanine!” He told him while Makkachin whined. “Some trainer might have planted this you know! He or she might look for the berry they planted.”

The Arcanine whined again pitifully and pawed at Viktor.

Viktor sighed. “I suppose you are hungry. Let’s eat first before we explore  Lilycove. Is that okay with you?”

He smiled when he was answered with a bark. This time they walked back to the city proper side by side. Some people stared at him while some whispered and took pictures. By now, Viktor was used to the attention. He supposed that he was partially at fault because he should have known that Lilycove was also home to Hoenn’s largest and grandest Contest Arena. He blamed his forgetfulness really.

“Pokeblocks hmm? What flavour would you like Makkachin?” He observed the menu given to him carefully. “What is your best seller here?”

“The rainbow pokeblocks are a must have here, the pokemon love it.” The waiter replied

“Well then, Makkachin here will have that then. Oh, let’s get your other friends out shall we? So make that 3 rainbow pokeblocks then.” After a few seconds of red flashing, Viktor’s other Pokemon were out. “I’ll be having this…seafood ramen then. Oh, and a small platter of sushi too.”

“If that will be all then I’ll be back in a few minutes with your orders.”

Viktor watched the waiter leave before turning his attention to his Pokemon. “Hey there buddies, welcome to Hoenn.”

His Milotic, Alisa, curled her tail on his leg to show her affection. He smiled and patted her head. Talonflame, named Lev, on the other hand fluttered near his face and cooed. Viktor giggled for a bit before patting him too. Originally, he had six pokemon but getting documents for all six pokemon in such a short time was honestly such a pain. So he took only the necessary Pokemon, not that he saw the others as unimportant. Alisa can carry him across large bodies of water while Lev can fly him to places far away. Although he doubted that there would be some flying because his Pokemon do not know where the Pokemon Centers are yet.

“Here are your orders sir,” the waiter said and placed the meal on the table. “Um…if you don’t mind sir, can I have your autograph?”

“Thank you and no, it’s fine. Do you have a pen?” He replied and removed his sunglasses with a polite smile. After signing the poster the waiter held out, he asked a question. “What are some good places to see here in Hoenn?”

“Well, since you’re already in Lilycove, I guess you can start with Mt. Pyre. It’s the place where Pokemon are put to rest and buried. But besides from being a graveyard, tourists visit it to hear about the legend of Kyogre and Groudon.”

Now, _this_ caught his interest. The gray haired man leaned forward. “I have heard of Kyogre and Groudon but do tell me more.”

Viktor wasn’t particularly lying on that part. He did know about the two legendary pokemon. He was required to know about the two legendary pokemon was more like it. But in this day and age, there was no one who has not heard of the legend of the two especially after what happened decades ago. However, he might learn more about it now that he was here.

“There used to be an old couple who guarded the red and blue orbs and Mt. Pyre. But now that they are deceased, they passed the responsibility to other people. It was not revealed who is hiding the orbs now but some say that the Pokemon League here in Hoenn has it while some say that they buried it somewhere deep in Mt. Pyre or in the ocean so that no one can retrieve it and use it for their own selfish purposes again.” The waiter said and poured him water.

“So do tourists just appear there?”

“Oh, the League decided to make it so that people can donate to maintain Mt. Pyre’s beauty. People usually donate too because they want the best resting place for their pokemon. Usually, there’s a boat that can take you there but I heard that they were called to Slateport.”

“It’s okay I guess I mean, I have Alisa here to take me there.”

“Right, you have a Milotic. Anyway, there’s a route just outside Lilycove that can take you to the docking place towards Mt. Pyre. It’s not very hard to miss. Good luck Mr. Nikiforov. Have a nice meal.” He said and bowed once before leaving.

“Thank you too by the way,” Viktor called out to him and then rubbed his chin. “Mt. Pyre huh. I suppose that’s where we’re going next then Makkachin, Alisa, Lev.”

His Pokemon crowed cheerfully before digging back in their food. He smiled fondly at them and pondered hard on his next steps.

* * *

 

“Alright, return Makkachin,” he said and in a flash, the large Arcanine was back in his pokeball. “I know you want to walk more but you and I know that we both can’t fit on Alisa’s back.”

The Arcanine whined and nudged Viktor’s hand before willingly returning to his pokeball. Viktor patted his pokeball and let out his Milotic, who crooned and looked at her trainer expectantly. He then carefully mounted his pokemon before stroking her head.

“Okay Alisa, let’s go.” He said and braced himself. He felt a small grin appear when he felt the sea water spray his face. It has been a long time since he travelled like this with his pokemon. With him constantly training for Contests and being the somewhat official face of the Kalosian Pokemon Contest League, he never had the luxury to travel again like a normal trainer. He always had to ride vehicles to the next city. He missed experiencing nature like this again.

“According to the map here,” He looked at the map in his Holocaster. “Go that way Alisa.”

Milotic hummed and swiftly swam towards that direction.

After a few minutes of avoiding the trainers who want to challenge the unfortunate people who is surfing the ocean, they finally reached Mt. Pyre. Now that he stood on the entrance to the cave, he could see that the next route was maybe about six to ten feet away only. He gave one last stroke to Milotic before returning her to her pokeball and letting out Makkachin.

“Hey buddy, I already sprayed repel on myself so let’s spray some on you too,” he said and pulled out a max repel from his bag and sprayed some on the Arcanine. “There we go.”

Makkachin barked at him and pawed his legs. “Normally, I wouldn’t have to do this if we joined another group of tourists but I heard that the Shuppets were particularly persistent on bothering trainers here. We’re here as tourists not trainers okay?”

When the Arcanine whined, he pinched his cheeks playfully. “You don’t even need training anymore at this point you silly dog.”

There was a lot of people in Mt. Pyre right now. Some were taking pictures, some went to the shrine dedicated to Kyogre and Groudon, some wanted to learn more about the couple who used to guard the orbs, and some were visiting their deceased partners.

He found it amusing that there were young trainers who would challenge him at first but would eventually stammer and apologize upon noticing that he was Viktor Nikiforov. There were also some who didn’t know who he was and continued on the challenge. He accepted some and let Makkachin fight but it was all over with a single attack and the battles all ended up in his favour.

“Wow, you totally whooped my ass Nikiforov-san,” the young ace trainer said in awe. “Can I have your autograph please?”

“Oh sure,” He replied politely and signed the notebook the trainer held out. “If you don’t mind, but where can I find the next exit? I’m afraid I’ve been running in circles here.”

“You’re not too far from it now. Just go right after the third corner and you’ll see the exit. The view is really beautiful once you get there.”

Viktor nodded. “Thank you. I’ll get going then.”

“Alright, good luck!”

True to the Ace Trainer’s words, he found the exit soon and Makkachin immediately looked at his trainer before rolling on his back and enjoying the grass. Makkachin chased the poor caterpie that just happened to catch his attention. He scolded his pokemon gently and then they continued on their journey. Viktor rather liked this area. It was quiet and serene and he liked the cool and fresh air. God he missed this. He missed being a rookie trainer and travelling with nothing but a backpack, his pokedex, and his trusty pokemon. He missed seeing the world and beauty of the pokemon through his very own eyes. At first he liked the feeling of being the Contest Champion not only in Alola but also in Unova, Kalos, and Sinnoh but he soon got bored of it. What is good with being the best when the only ones at the top were him and his pokemon. He only had his pokemon but he supposed that that’s everyone who matters.

“Makkachin?” He called out and frowned when his Arcanine did not answer. “Let’s go Makkachin we still have to reach the top.”

He heard a bark from somewhere and decided to follow the sound. It wasn’t too long before he found where Makkachin was.

He was on playing with a growlithe. Makkachin can be considered an adult already but he still acted like a growlithe which was fine with Viktor. He then turned and saw a man sobbing his eyes out in a cliff near them. At first, he was alarmed and he thought that the man might jump (who wouldn’t? he was near a cliff and he was bawling) but when he realized that the man was only grieving for his pokemon, he walked away with Makkachin quietly.

He might be alone at the top but at least he has his pokemon, he has Makkachin.

Some people aren’t that lucky.

It was already nearing night time and people from the league came and warned the people to leave. Touring Mt. Pyre at night was something other trainers did sometimes but it was still considered dangerous since the Shuppets were at their most mischievous at night. In the end, Viktor wasn’t able to see the entirety of Mt. Pyre.

“Let’s go Makkachin, we’ll return tomorrow.”

If ever his eyes strayed to the tourists and trainers all leaving the island either through their own pokemon or through the boats, well, it’s not like he was trying to look for someone right? He was rather ticked off at how many people had black hair and glasses.

He’d come back tomorrow, that was what he decided.

* * *

 

This time he saw the man from yesterday mount on a Quagsire and swim towards Mt. Pyre again. He immediately called out Alisa and followed them silently. He was glad that the man was alright but at the same time he can’t help but be curious. Was it his tradition to visit his dead pokemon everyday? Does he live in Lilycove City? How come he has never seen him before?

“Vicchan.” He heard the man sob again in the same cliff. This time he brought new and fresh flowers.

Pieces of his heart continued to break away the longer he stayed and watch the man.

“Let’s explore the rest of Mt. Pyre Makkachin.” He whispered to his Pokemon and they left.

They came back to the cliff and saw that the man was still there. He fell asleep on the grass.

He looked tired and…empty. _Doesn’t that sound familiar_? His inner voice asked him in jest. He can’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie in the man. Clearly he cannot determine which of the two weighed more: him being the lonely and unbeatable king at the top, similar to the legendary Red, or the man who climbs to the top everyday because his pokemon left him and his loneliness and grief was eating him away.

 _Maybe we’re the same after all_ , he thought as he hugged the neck of Alisa.

Alisa crooned and hummed a tune as if to comfort. It was as if she was saying, ‘ _We’re here for you Viktor. We’ll be at the top with you. But that man? He has no one with him at the top right now_.’

He held on to the Milotic tighter.

* * *

It was his last day in Lilycove and after this he would go to the nearest city. Fortree City seemed nice and unique. He had already reached the top of Mt. Pyre and even saw the place where the elderly couple used to live in. He really had no more reason to return to the mountain. But for some reason he still came back. He didn’t know why he came back.

(That’s a lie, his inner voice accused him, you came back for him. You came back for the man who sobbed his eyes out in front of you even if he didn’t see you.)

This time he let Makkachin roll around and play around the area. The man had not arrived yet although he saw him ride the Quagsire again towards Mt. Pyre with a solemn look on his face. Viktor closed his eyes and his hands clutched the grass at his sides. The first time he arrived in Lilycove, he didn’t know how he would be inspired. He didn’t know how it will get him to return his love to Pokemon Contests again.

But maybe…maybe he would get his inspiration back. The man was one of the things that just might inspire him to return.

“Ah yes, hello Phichit-kun? I-I’m doing fine,” Viktor immediately rolled away to hide from the man. Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice him. And the man was speaking English! He was also doing a good job at hiding his feelings from the person he was talking to. “I’m…coping. I’m doing better.”

“—You know I can’t do that—“

“But Phichit-kun! I might hurt them!” This was the first time he heard the man yell. This was also the first time he heard him speak.

It seemed like the conversation was over because silence suddenly ensued. Until the man spoke again in a tone of disbelief a few minutes later.

“Vicchan? Are you haunting me for being a bad trainer? Wait, no…you’re a shade darker than him.” He heard the man mutter.

 Viktor cleared his throat to gain the attention of the man. “Makkachin? Get off of him you silly pokemon.”

Makkachin barked again and licked the man’s face one last time before trotting back to his trainer’s saide. The bespectacled man had a look which can only be described as shock, grief, and disbelief.

The man snapped out of his stupor and nodded. “I’m sorry…he just looked so much like my…” His eyes got misty.

“It’s fine!” He replied and sat down a few feet away from the man. “Makkachin had always been a tad naughty and too jolly.”

Then realization hit the man. “Oh my god! You’re Viktor Nikiforov.”

Viktor let out an amused smile. So he didn’t recognize him that soon and he found it rather endearing. Slowly, the man got up and slapped his cheeks. He nodded when Viktor asked him if he was okay since he looked a bit shaken. He was about to say something when a huge Duskull appeared behind them and screeched loudly. Makkachin went on guard and stood growling in front of the two in an instant. _It doesn’t look very strong_ , he thought as he assessed the foe in front of them. Usually, he had no qualms that Makkachin can take care of his foe easily but despite the fact that he had been traversing Mt. Pyre for almost three days now, he still have not caught the feel of the Pokemon on the island. It might have something to do with the fact that he had been spraying Repels on the two of them the whole time.

Normally, he would just order Makkachin to use Flamethrower but his pokemon had strong fire power and with grass all around them, he might burn the place. As he was thinking of what strategy to use to minimize the damage, the Duskull suddenly attacked the Arcanine. Makkachin snarled again and took the hit head on, drawing the concerns of the two men.

“Makkachin! Use Crunch!” Viktor ordered once he saw that the Duskull barely hurt his Arcanine. The difference between their levels just seemed too far now that he saw how the attack affected his pokemon. “Dammit!”

The Duskull tittered as it avoided the attack by phasing through the cliffs and attacked his pokemon again.  _Shadow Sneak_ _huh_ , Viktor recognized that attack.  “Makkachin, go back here—“

“Makkachin!” He yelled when the Duskull used Pursuit on his pokemon, making the attack stronger than normal since his pokemon was trying to run away. A bark from him told him that he was still doing fine but his pokemon can only take too many hits before fainting no matter how weak the attacks are.

The Duskull then noticed the gray haired Contest Champion and decided to switch targets. It phased throught the ground and appeared behind Viktor, who was startled by the strong and cold wind it emitted and tried to avoid the ghost pokemon but fainted. Makkachin quickly tried to get between the two and roared at the other pokemon. However, instead of running away, it sniggered and moved a few paces away.

“Viktor! Are you okay?” The bespectacled man asked and put his head on his lap. “Dammit…Makkachin r-right? Um, try to force the Duskull to go move away farther until it’s near the edge of the cliff. Use heat wave specifically only on the pokemon’s area!”

Makkachin looked at the man for a moment and then at his trainer and did as what he was told. The heat was concentrated on the area the Duskull was in only so the grass was spared as it was in the air. Soon enough, the Duskull was floating on the edge of the cliff so he reckoned that it was safe enough to use one of Arcanine’s strongest attacks.

“Now use Flamethrower!”

The searing heat from the attack caused sweat to run down his face but after a few seconds, he saw that the Duskull had fainted. Makkachin ran to them and licked his trainer’s face worriedly. He frowned when he saw that Viktor had not woken up yet but then groaned when he realized that he just ordered around his pokemon.

“I can’t believe I did that,” he moaned and rubbed his temple. “I’m so stupid!”

“You were creative, on the contrary,” Viktor suddenly said with a smile, surprising him. “Uh, god, that hurt. I’m surprised Makkachin obeyed you though.”

“I-I was surprised too…Are you okay Viktor?!”

“I’m fine, just a little sore,” he answered and then winked at the man. “And you are?”

“Y-Yuuri…Yuuri Katsuki.” The other replied, becoming more and more nervous as Viktor become closer to him.

“Hmm, are you a gym leader?” Viktor considered it. Yuuri was obviously strong since he was able to make Makkachin obey his orders. His Arcanine maybe obedient and jolly but he doesn’t easily obey orders from strangers like this man. And high-levelled pokemon only obey orders from trainers they deem worthy so for Makkachin to obey him…

“N-No…”

“A  Pokemon League Agent?”

“No!”

“Hm…you’re not a member of Hoenn’s Elite four are you?” He asked and observed Yuuri. He didn’t seem like it but people weren’t always what you expected.

“Definitely not!” Yuuri yelped and moved away from Viktor who was creeping in on him closer.

Viktor cocked his head curiously. “You’re obviously stronger than an Ace Trainer. And if you were, then you need to be promoted.  I refuse to believe you’re a normal trainer too.”

“Well will you look at the time!” Yuuri laughed anxiously and ran away from the 5 time Pokemon Contest Champion. “I have to get going now! Bye!”

“Wait!” Viktor called out but the other man had already left. “Yuuri Katsuki huh, I’ll find out who you are.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor travels further to find Yuuri. While travelling, he meets people who are connected to Yuuri and picks up information about him. He tries to piece them all together.

Fortree reminded him of the green scenery in Coumarine City. However, if one thought that Coumarine City was the greenest and most environmentally friendly city then they were wrong. Coumarine had that alluring charm that made people go back to it. It was like being urban and rural at the same time. Fortree on the other hand, was something magical, fresh, and lush. The houses in the trees, the fresh air, the pokemon and the humans living together in the habitat peacefully, Viktor loved all of it. Travelling did give him new insights on things. Unfortunately, they had to continue towards the next route if they wanted to go to Mauville quickly.

“Ah, looks like we would have to go back after all,” Viktor said to Makkachin who continued to roll on the grass, and put his Holocaster back in his bag. “The Weather Institute said that a strong storm is going to pass through here and this is a pretty long route.”

He sighed when his pokemon merely continued enjoying the grass. “Are you even listening to me Makkachin? You’ve been like this ever since you met Yuuri.”

“Yuuri huh.” He muttered and lied down on the grass beside his Arcanine.

 He was shocked in all honesty but he hid it well. For someone to be able to order his precious pokemon in battle, that means he was around his level or near it. Sure Makkachin obeyed others but those orders were things like ‘get Viktor please?’, ‘wake your lazy owner’, or other stuffs like that. But for him to obey another trainer in battle? That was something Viktor once thought to be impossible. Hell Makkachin didn’t even fully obey Yakov in battle. He first sought Viktor’s approval before letting the old gym leader use him in battle. But he was unconscious at that time, he really was! He woke up upon hearing Yuuri’s battle orders.

“Oh shit, I didn’t think the storm was already here.” He groaned as he felt large droplets of water fall on his face.

They could try to hide under a tree but they would still get soak. Even his other clothes in the bag would not be spared. He had to find a shelter soon but all he could see right now was tall grasses. He contemplated on returning Makkachin to his pokeball because the Arcanine didn’t really like water but at the same time, some random pokemon might attack him while he was walking in the tall grass.

He bit his lip as a red light flashed in front of him for a second and disappeared along with the Arcanine. “I guess I’d have to do this the old way.”

Viktor sprayed a normal Repel on himself before running towards the heavy rain. It was difficult to run through the tall and thick grass in the field but the normal path was muddy right now and he saw the struggles of the other trainers who had the unfortunate luck to be stuck there and waddle through it. He was about to sigh in relief upon seeing that he managed to find the end of the goddamn field when the head of a Tropius was raised from the tall grass and turned to him.

 _I’m pretty sure I still have Repel on me_ , he groaned inwardly when he realized that the rain must have washed it away. _Or not, shit, I might have to force Makkachin to fight in the rain_.

 _Alisa is too large and would have a difficult time manoeuvring in this kind of field and she might attract other pokemon and trainers to fight too._ _Talonflame is…probably not used to flying in strong winds and heavy rain. Being part fire type will take a toll too._

“Fine…” He gritted his teeth and shivered. Whether he shivered from the cold or from the excitement of battling for survival, he didn’t know, he reckoned it was both. “Go Alisa!”

In a flash of red light, the majestic Milotic was out and hissing at the Tropius who now stood at its full height. His Milotic was still taller but he can’t help feeling uncomfortable with Alisa standing out too much. That’s probably saying something since his career as a Pokemon Contest Champion was all about standing out.

Alisa stood and hissed at 8 feet tall, towering over the 6 feet tall Tropius. The other pokemon stepped back a bit, clearly intimidated by the other even though Alisa wasn’t intimidating by nature. His Milotic is still quite young and will still grow, at least according to what Lila said. Some Milotics reached even 21 feet in height, almost as tall as a Gyarados.

“Alisa, ice beam on the Tropius only,” he ordered her with a firm voice. “We don’t want to damage the other pokemon or the surroundings. Don’t go all out okay?”

With a screech, a large ray of ice was emitted from her mouth and hit the Tropius dead on the chest. The other pokemon tried to escape with only little health left and attacked using Leaf Tornado. Alisa hurriedly slithered in front of her trainer to protect him from the onslaught.

“Finish it off quickly Alisa.”

The Milotic hummed and attacked it swiftly with its tail covered in water. The ground rumbled as the Tropius fell down. Viktor murmured a small praise to the Milotic before returning her to her pokeball and running as quickly as he can to avoid more confrontation.

He yelped as he realized that his feet were stuck in the mud. _This is not_ _good_ , he said to himself as the wind and rain grew stronger. By now, most pokemon have fled and looked for shelter which was good since that means lesser chances of having a pokemon battle in the fields.

“Excuse me! You!” A man called out.

Viktor turned his head and saw a man in a lab gown running towards him. “Over here!”

“It’s dangerous to be out right now! There’s a storm!”

“I got stuck!” He yelled out.

After a few minutes, the man was finally in front of him. “Oh shit, the mud gets especially sticky around this area when wet. You’re lucky my Linoone ran out of the Institute to play in the rain.”

“Thank you,” he sighed in relief as the other guy tried to pull him up. “I think we should stop. You might fall in too.”

“Oh I know,” the man exclaimed and released his Ralts from the pokeball. “Hajime, can you teleport us back to the institute?”

The Ralts hummed and walked towards Viktor, held his and his owner’s hand tightly. A light aura was emitted from his body and Viktor had to close his eyes because suddenly, everything was bright and his head hurt. In a few seconds, he was finally able to open his eyes and he realized that they were inside a building.

“Welcome to the Weather Institute,” the man said and kissed the top of the head of his Ralts. “You improved a lot in using Teleport now Hajime.”

The Ralts screeched happily, making the two wince and then it ran upstairs.

“He must be young.”

“He is, he’s actually my son’s pokemon,” the other replied but then his eyes widened upon seeing the man closer and clearer. “Oh shit! You’re Viktor Nikiforov! Man! My son’s a fan of yours actually. Can you sign, oh wait, let me get something first…If you want you can place your pokeballs in the machine first to heal your pokemon. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

He placed his pokeballs in the machine and waited for a few seconds, listening to the sounds it made, before hooking them again in his belt. _Thump!_ He looked at the ceiling and furrowed his eyebrows. Huh, he thought he heard some thumping and footsteps. Viktor took off his wet jacket and briefly thought if it was okay to place it on the chair. He shrugged and did it anyway.

“Ouch! Holyyyyyy! Shitttt!” A loud and energetic voice screamed from the stairs. A bundle of yellow and red went tumbling down the said stairs and suddenly, a vibrating teenager holding a notebook and a pen was in front of him. “Holy Arceus! It’s you! You’re Viktor Nikiforov! Can I have your autograph?! You’re like my Pokemon Contest Idol!”

“And this, is my son Minami,” the man said and patted his son’s shoulder before chuckling. “My name is Shoyou, by the way. You’re welcome to stay here until the storm is over.”

“Thank you Shoyou, ah, Minami, do you not want me to…” Viktor trailed off unsure of how to continue his statement without sounding too standoffish.

“Oh right! Can I have your autograph?!” Minami said, his eyes sparkling brightly and holding out the notebook and the pen.

Viktor took the pen and the notebook and signed his signature and wrote a short message. “By the way Minami, do you know a guy named Yu—“

“Minami! Minako is calling!” Shoyou yelled while holding his PokeNav to his ears. “Here, she says she’s got some important stuff to talk to you about.”

“Oh okay, thanks Viktor! Hey Minako? Yeah? Sure wait I’ll tell dad first, Dad, I’ll be upstairs okay?”

Viktor raised his eyebrow. That was name he hasn’t heard or seen in a while. He wondered if it was only a coincidence. “By Minako, do you mean Minako Okukawa? The gym leader who is the next in line for the elite four in Hoenn? She handles the Balance badge right?”

“Yeah, I suppose even Viktor Nikiforov can catch up on international news eh? Minako deserves all of her achievements now. I don’t know if I should tell you this just yet but I suppose there’s no harm since she’s already planning to release this to the media. Minako is kind of hesitant to be a part of the Elite Four.”

“Why is that so?” Viktor asked, genuinely curious. Anybody else would accept the position in an instant. Being part of the Elite four had benefits but he could understand why some would decline. Elite Four members tend to get bored because the number of trainers who actually get all eight badges _and_ get pass Victory Road is a bit low. But of course that was private information people like Viktor only knew.

Shoyou sipped his coffee and gave Viktor a towel to dry himself off with. “She said she liked handing out the asses of overconfident prepubescent and teens. That and I think she’s worried on who will take over her gym now that her student has retired as being a trainer.”

“That is a shame; I’ve seen her battles in the news sometimes. She’s got a Coordinator’s touch.” He mulled and pulled the towel tighter to himself when the wind howled outside.

“The thing is, she used to be a big shot Coordinator here in Hoenn, Kanto, and Unova. But she preferred to retire early and be a gym leader instead,” he then chuckled good-naturedly. “Honestly, she just likes kicking ass more.”

“She used to be a famous Coordinator huh? I haven’t really heard of her…No offense meant though!” Viktor immediately said once he realized how he sounded.

Shoyou smiled and offered him a coffee too, which he took. “Don’t worry any offense taken. Minako is what you probably call a fossil in the Contest World. She’s been a Coordinator for a long time and has quit for a long time too.”

“Wow, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t really look her age, according to my memory at least.”

“Oh Minako? That woman doesn’t age. It’s like she’s got a Celebi inside her,” he replied but then his attention was caught when one of the Castforms approached him. The Castform was still in its water form but its blueness was slowly receding. “Shigeo here wanted to inform us that the storm will be out of this route soon and will be in the ocean by tomorrow.”

“That’s great news I suppose?”

“Yes, so trainers can go through route 119 again. But I have to inform the media that trainers and swimmers should probably avoid being in the ocean for a while. The waves here in Hoenn aren’t kind,” Shoyou nodded at him and put his hands in his pocket. “I trust that you will be fine here? If you want to rest, there’s a room with beds in this floor. Just go straight and turn right.”

“Thank you…Um wait! Shoyou!” Viktor called out, making the other man turn to him. He then pulled out his Holocaster and pressed the record button in case he forgot what Shoyou would say. “I know this sounds random but do you know a guy named Yuuri Katsuki?”

Shoyou’s eyes noticeably softened ( _Viktor will have to remember that later_ ) and smiled at him. “Yeah, Yuuri is…how can I say this…he’s got a big heart. Minami has already met him and he idolizes him actually. He’s a wonderful and strong trainer. He looks up to huge people but believes that he can’t be of equal to them which I think is absurd.

Yuuri should give himself more credit. He’s more than what he sees and describes himself to be.”

* * *

 

“Well that didn’t help us much right Makkachin?” Viktor asked his Arcanine who was tottering beside him. “What Shoyou gave about Yuuri was too…personal. How in Xerneas’s name are we going to find Yuuri Katsuki with those?”

Viktor had already tried one of his strongest suits: social media. He searched about Yuuri Katsuki and he had been quite talked about in Hoenn but nothing really pointed out to where he was or where he lived. Yuuri Katsuki had a Photogram account but it had been a year since it was updated and the last update had been a picture of scenery in Hoenn. The other pictures were just random photos of pokemon.

“Do you think I’m actually just imagining him Makkachin? Am I going crazy?”

Makkachin barked happily and licked his face.

“Maybe Minako Okukawa will know about him what do you think?”

“Hey you!” There was a 16 year old boy pointing his finger at him. “Viktor Nikiforov! I challenge you!”

Viktor and his Arcanine shared a look. As much as he wanted to entertain this teen’s demands, no he really did want to because the teen reminded him so much of Yurio, he had to go to Mauville soon and then find clues on where to find Yuuri Katsuki. Makkachin must have thought the same too because he immediately went into battle position.

“Let’s kick some ass Iwa!” The boy then smirked, making Viktor want to roll his eyes. A Vibrava erupted from the pokeball screeching. “If I defeat you then that means I’m ready for the Hoenn League. You might be good at Contests but _I’ll_ be the next Pokemon Champion.”

 _He has the type advantage against Makkachin but that’s okay, we can remedy that_ , he thought as he observed the two pokemon sizing each other. “I accept your challenge then but I’ll remind you that Coordinators are not just there to stand pretty.”

“Iwa use Earthquake!”

“Makkachin Outrage!”

Viktor smiled and knew that then and there the battle was over. Vibravas are quick and agile for ground and dragon pokemon but Makkachin was faster. Even if the kid managed to max out his Vibrava’s speed in a matter of seconds, his Arcanine would still be faster. He trained with Makkachin ever since he was hatched from the egg. He noticed that Makkachin’s speed improved vastly after training with Zubats and Wingulls one day.

“It’s not over yet!” The kid exclaimed and gritted his teeth. “Let’s go Toshi!”

A Lucario came out this time, falling into a battle stance. Lucarios were incredibly bulky, he remembered that one time in a competition wherein he had to make use of this environment for finally take the Lucario down without putting much strain on his own pokemon.

“Hold your ground Toshi! That Arcanine will be exhausted soon!”

Viktor knew that it was risky to use Outrage against that Vibrava especially since there was a chance his opponent might have more than one pokemon. Outrage was a move that lasted for more than a single round. The pokemon will use it to attack continuously and mindlessly until it was exhausted. And since Outrage was an extremely powerful move, most pokemon are able to use it only for three times in a row. With Makkachin’s stamina, he might last to four but that was already pushing it. Viktor sighed when the Outrage hit the Lucario. Obviously the Lucario took a hit but it wasn’t as effective as before.

“Now Earthquake!” His eyes twitched when he realized that he was battling a kid who spammed moves again.

The Lucario drew back his feet and stomped, making the earth shake beneath them. This attracted the attention of trainers who came to see what was with the commotion. A few pokemon also turned their heads to look at them. Some left when they saw that it was only a battle, not recognizing Viktor in his disguise, while some stayed when they realized that _Viktor Nikiforov_ was here and fighting a trainer!

Due to Makkachin’s large stature, he fell and got some injuries and gave the Lucario an opening to punch him with his heavy fists. Makkachin drew back, a bit exhausted from using Outrage, but growled and thrashed wildly while emitting beams of purple and red light from his mouth. This caused the Lucario to step away defensively.

“Continue attacking it Toshi!”

For now, Viktor can’t order any other move to Makkachin because of his exhausted and confused state. He saw his pokemon run around, dodging punches and kicks from the Lucario left and right before running towards a bush. _What on earth?_ His eyes widened upon recognizing what Makkachin was trying to do. He was trying to find a berry!

“Go behind that bush Makkachin,” he finally ordered. “Wait for the Lucario to strike.”

The teen seemed to be perplexed as to what they were planning and his pokemon mirrored his expression. Nevertheless they tried to take advantage of the situation. “It’s you chance Toshi! Use Aura Sphere!”

“Use the wall next to the bush as leverage and avoid the attack!” He told him with a calm smile. He knew that his pokemon will take control of the battle. “Eat that Persim berry and then use Flare Blitz!”

Doing as he was told, Makkachin managed to avoid the powerful attack and immediately bit on the berry he found behind the bush once he landed. He then swiftly ran towards the other pokemon who looked a bit taken aback. Hot flames gushed from his body and mouth as he bit and tackled the Lucario. The part steel type yelped and wasn’t able to handle the heat fainted. Unfortunately, Flare Blitz took a bit of his health, making the Arcanine more exhausted than before. But the adrenaline of the battle made Makkachin more confident and the other trainer more nervous.

“No! Togetic! Dammit!” The trainer gulped and kissed his last pokeball. All his other pokemon was stomped on by the Arcanine in one move. He wanted to release his last pokemon, Sceptile, to battle but travelling without a pokemon by his side was dangerous. He forgot to buy Revives from the PokeMart and the nearest Pokemon Center was still far away.

“It’s alright, don’t send out your last pokemon,” Viktor told him and sprayed a potion on Makkachin. He smiled politely, not wanting to be too close and personal to others. “You and your pokemon’s safety should come first especially since you’re still travelling.”

“Len,” the trainer suddenly said with determined eyes, making Viktor raise a brow in surprise. He looked upset just now but it seemed like he managed to gain his spirits back. “That’s my name and you better remember it! I’ll be kicking your ass one day!”

“But isn’t Nikiforov doing Contests?” one bystander muttered.

The other bystander shrugged. “It’s the adrenaline rush getting to him. But Nikiforov is a good battler too. Good enough to be one of the Elite Four in Kalos.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Viktor replied with a refined smile. _Exactly like Yuri then. I bet they’ll go along as well as two explosives;_ he inwardly sniggered at the thought of these two teenagers meeting.

“I’m serious!”

“I, as well, am serious. But if it’s no bother to you, do you know anyone who goes by the name Yuuri Katsuki?” Viktor asked slowly, still uncertain on whether he should ask a random trainer this. But since they’ve already battled, he may as well ask him.

“Tch, why do I have to even tell you about it?” He grumbled.

An idea popped in Viktor’s head. “This can be your payment to me. “

“My what?!”

“Your payment, for losing the battle,” The gray haired man added a smile that knew annoyed most people. “I assume that the same League rules apply here?”

“Fuck, how much do I owe you anyway?” Len groused and did a double-take when his PokeNav told him how much he would have to pay Viktor. “Are you fucking serious?! This is a lot of money!”

“Then you can just tell me about Yuuri Katsuki, anything about him would do.”

“I didn’t know that Nikiforov was a stalker.” The other deadpanned and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Holy Arceus if I only knew that you Trainer Fee was that high…Listen carefully now.”

“Wait…okay start!” Viktor said as he put his Holocaster in recording mode and placed it in front of the other guy.

“He used to be the student of Minako Okukawa, Petalburg's gym leader,” Len patted his pants to remove the dust. “I haven’t met him personally but I heard he’s pretty strong especially since he mentored under Minako Okukawa, one of the toughest gym leaders in Hoenn.”

“Petalburg hmm…do you know where I can find that?”

“It’s far from Mauville actually and it'll take you twice as long to get there unless you have a bike or a car,” Len eyed him. "But knowing you and your Trainer Fee, you can afford both or you can just ride a car or train to there. Shit, do you do this to every trainer you beat? Or do you wrestle them for your trainer fee?"

“Do you know where Yuuri Katsuki lives? Or where he is right now?”

“I really don’t know man!” He yelped and put his hands in front of him when Viktor stepped closer to him. “You’re better off asking Minako! Or searching the net.”

“Is that really all you know about him? I tried to search about him but there are no posts about him this year. He was very talked about in a few forums but that was two or three years ago.”

“I don’t really keep up with this kind of shit but I kind of remember seeing Katsuki in some of the promotional videos the League set up to inspire more trainers to actually challenge the Elite Four and the Champion. Huh, I kind of remember him now. He had that fluid style of fighting. It’s almost like he used to do Contests.”

"Thanks! And by the way, that was just a joke. I don't force other trainers to pay me that much or talk about Yuuri! Dasvidaniya!"

"What the fuck?! Get back here Nikiforov! You bastard!"

* * *

“Wow! We’re finally in Mauville! Quick Makkachin let’s take a pic! Say Hoenn!” Viktor hugged his Arcanine close to him and took a picture using his phone.

“This looks great! Okay it says here in the map that there’s a foodcourt here—“

“Ow! Give it back! That’s my pokemon!” A trainer said and tried to get his pokeballs from one of the trainers.

The other trainer smirked. “Then battle us first.”

“My pokemon haven’t been healed yet! I’ll battle you later after I take them to the pokemon center please!”

“12 year olds like you shouldn’t even be travelling by themselves if they can’t prevent their pokemon from reaching the point of health wherein they need a pokemon center.”

“I’m 17 assholes!”

“Guang Hong!” A tan man in a yellow outfit came and glared at the other trainers. “Give him back his pokeballs! I can call the League on you.”

“Leo! Don’t involve yourself here!”

“As if the League will care about puny trainers like you.” He spat and the others cackled. “Who will even make sure this reaches the League?”

The three trainers then released their own pokemon and surrounded the two. Their leader threw Guang Hong his pokeball and smirked. “Come on, let’s battle.”

“But my pokemon!”

“Don’t worry Guang Hong, we’ll use my pokemon,” Leo assured him. “Fine, we’ll battle but we get to use my pokemon in this triple battle. We won’t use Guang Hong’s.”

“Haah?!” Their leader exclaimed and made a face. “That’s against the rules asshole!”

Viktor decided it was time to step in and put a hand on Leo and Guang Hong’s shoulder. “Well I guess you won’t mind me and Makkachin joining in the battle right? After all, it’s against the rules for two to go against three.”

He almost broke his façade and laughed when he saw Makkachin raised his butt, wiggled it, and growled. Apparently, Makkachin saw an Electrike do this and misunderstood it as a way of intimidation when it was actually a mating dance. He then decided to use it to intimidate the poor pokemon it will see while they were on their way to Mauville. Unfortunately, those other pokemon didn’t seem to find it intimidating with all his butt wiggling and they ignored him instead.

“N-Nevermind! This isn’t over Guang Hong! Iglesias!”

“…My last name is actually de la Iglesia but okay.”

“Are you alright?” He asked the two who still seemed to be feeling a myriad of emotions.

“Yeah we’re fine, thanks Mr. Nikiforov,” Guang Hong said and bowed deeply. “If it’s alright can I have an autograph and a picture with you please?!”

Viktor chuckled. “It’s okay, come on. And call me Viktor please. Mr. Nikiforov makes me sound a lot older.”

“Thank you again so much! Do you want anything? How can I repay you?” Guang Hong told him, hands clenched to a fist in excitement over meeting his idol.

“There’s no need actually,” He replied but then decided to ask them something. “Actually…do you know anyone by the name of Yuuri Katsuki?”

The two perked up upon hearing the name. They looked at each other before looking back again at Viktor and nodded. Viktor’s eyes widened. He might be finally gaining progress as to who Yuuri Katsuki is. He immediately took his Holocaster and set it to record.

“Yuuri is actually a friend of ours.” Guang Hong answered.

Leo rubbed his elbows as he spoke. “Unfortunately, we don’t know where he is right now. I’m assuming he took a break from being a trainer because of his…actually it’s not our place to tell you about that.”

“Because his pokemon died?” He continued for them, startling them both. “I met him in Mt. Pyre actually.”

“Then I guess it’s safe to say it,” the tan trainer said. “Yuuri lost one of his pokemon and it devastated him. He was a strong trainer, one of the strongest I’ve met in Hoenn. But I suppose I’m not one to judge since I haven’t really met a lot of trainers in Hoenn.”

“Personally, we know Yuuri. We know Yuuri to be friendly and kind to both his pokemon and humans. He also loves taking care of baby pokemon and pokemon eggs so a friend of his, who is a pokemon scientist, sends him those for him to take care of. The only thing I can tell you is that Vicchan died in a battle. I'm grateful really that you saved us but I'm afraid we can't say anything more than that about this career. He's pretty sensitive about it and you should hear it from him not us."

Viktor brightened upon hearing the new information about Yuuri. “That's okay I understand. I know about Vicchan though but what really happened? Why did he die? And do you know where he is?”

Guang Hong furrowed his brows and shook his head. “As much as we want to help you find Yuuri, we’re foreigners here just like you. I’m from Kanto and he’s from Unova so we’re pretty much useless about that too. We’re only here for the Pokemon Contest in Slateport. I don’t really know where Yuuri lives either. How about you Leo?”

Leo held up a hand and was texting someone. After a minute, he put his phone back in his pocket. “I was texting Phichit. He’s Yuuri’s best friend and he knows him better than we do. I asked where Yuuri lives and—oh, he replied.”

“Where does he live then?” Viktor asked, stepping closer to the two in excitement. This was it! He was so closer to finding Yuuri!

“Phichit said that he lived in Lavaridge town. You might be able to find Yuuri there Viktor.”

That stopped Viktor in his tracks. Lavaridge and Petalburg  were too far from each other according to the map.  _Which one would I go to first?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly warmed by your replies guys! I didn't think that people would actually like it! I was inspired to write this chapter faster because of your reviews <3 You can recommend me what pokemon Viktor and Yuuri can have because only three pokemon has been confirmed for Viktor while 2 for Yuuri either here on or tumblr. Love ya'll so much, talk to me about this fic and get updates on my tumblr: iwacares.tumblr.com
> 
> As you can see, I tweaked some things regarding the Pokemon World in this story and I wanted to explore that in this chapter. Like if the move Earthquake actually caused widespread Earthquake then it would be disastrous. It's the same as Outrage and Flare Blitz. I decided that the moves would be used by Pokemon against other Pokemon unless their trainers ordered them to use it on the environment.  
> So using Outrage would be like Dragon Pulse but wilder, more powerful, and with more mindless thrashing and attacking. Flare Blitz results to the pokemon emitting fire from the mouth and its body and that's why they hurt themselves. This is kind of a plot hole though because some Arcanines have Flash Fire ability so let's just assume that Arcanines don't have the Flash Fire ability here. Let's just say that Makkachin has the Intimidate ability lmao
> 
> Fun fact: Milotic if you base it on the size recorded in the Pokedex is actually 20 feet tall so I made it that she's only 8 feet tall here because she's still young and it would contradict the one I wrote in the first chapter wherein Alisa was eating with Viktor lol. Tropius's height is only 6 feet though so for a dinosaur inspired pokemon, it's pretty small. 
> 
> Also, I hate making OCs eugh. I don't know any other Japanese character in canon YOI that would fit Len's age and I really needed Len to be there for the plot. And for a character other than Yurio to openly hate Viktor. AND AND AND Viktor and Makkachin didn't actually have a hard time defeating him. They held back actually. This part of the plot is a bit based on the story Missed Signals, Lost Lines by Cryptographic Delurk in ao3. Read it, it's awesome. One of the best pokemon fics ever.
> 
> I felt like this chapter was lacking and I hate myself for it. It's like a filler chapter but uaslladsad oh well I ALWAYS hate my work though so what's new
> 
> Again, thank you all <3 Maraming Salamat talaga mga bes! I'll try to do better in the next chapter!!! And have faster updates too lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this has been long overdue i'm so sorry huhuhu

“Makkachin! Get back here, don’t be too distracted okay?” He called out to his Arcanine who was running around in glee. “Arceus, it’s hot in here.”

He had taken off his coat inside the cable car due to the suffocating heat but even then, it was still hot. He sincerely hoped that Lavaridge wouldn’t be too hot. The Arcanine barked and ran back to Viktor who scratched the back of his ear. He frowned when he noticed that Makkachin’s mane had become dirty after a few minutes of playing here. His clothes have become a bit dirty too from all the falling ash. Maybe it was time to hurry to Lavaridge now.

“I hope you can still carry me like before Makkachin,” he joked as he mounted his pokemon, who barked happily and had obviously missed this kind of thing. “Jump over the ledges there, but don’t be too fast okay? Your trainer is an old man now.”

He supposed that riding Makkachin while traversing down the Jagged Pass was faster. If he walked with Makkachin, it would be more dangerous for him, who hasn’t jumped over a ledge for years. The ledges in Jagged Pass were a lot higher than other ledges he had encountered before and he was sure he would break his leg if he jumped down in a wrong way. Makkachin was happy to offer his trainer a ride and jump them over the ledges though. It had been a long time since he was able to go on an adventure like this with his pokemon.

He tightened his hold on Makkachin’s mane when the pokemon ran faster. “Slow down a bit—oh Dialga there goes one of our super potion—Makkachin!”

Makkachin immediately stopped, almost throwing his trainer off of him. Viktor sighed in relief when he noticed that they were finally at the bottom of the Jagged Pass. They lost a few items they bought but he was fine with that and going back to pick it up again was useless. He had forgotten how fast Arcanines could run and he should have thought twice before mounting Makkachin, who was extremely fast.

“Good job Makkachin, we’ll take it easy from here now, according to the map, we’re near Lavaridge already,” he said as they walked along route 112. “I think I can see some buildings and people now. Let’s go.”

Route 112 was fairly shorter than the other routes he encountered. At the end of route 112 were children playing and running around. A few more minutes and they were already in Lavaridge. The first thing he did was to go to the Pokemon Center and heal his pokemon. After they were healed, he’ll give Makkachin a very thorough bathing to scrub away those dirt.

“Mr. Nikiforov?” the nurse called out. He immediately went to the counter.

“Yes? I’m here, is there any problem? Is it okay to get my pokemon now?”

 “I’m sorry but it looks like there have been a large number of trainers who went down from Mt. Chimney and all of their pokemon required help,” the nurse replied. “Normally, we would be able to heal all of them rather quickly but the town is having problems with power and electricity. Most of the power is already routed towards the generator pokemon center, leaving the other buildings without electricity. We have to minimize our usage so it would take quite some time.”

“Power shortage huh? Has this reached the League yet?”

“We have contacted them about the problem but unfortunately, the storm delayed their arrival. We’re really sorry for the inconvenience!”

Viktor nodded with a smile. “It’s alright. I understand and please make sure to take care of the ones in critical conditions first.”

“Thank you Mr. Nikiforov! I suppose I should—“

“What’s going on?!”

“My pokemon!”

“Nurse! Help!”

“Oh Mew!” the nurse exclaimed as the lights around them suddenly went off, sending the other trainers into a commotion. “This is bad! We have several pokemon in critical condition inside a-and—“

“Nurse Sakura! What are we going to do?! The generator broke down!” A male nurse from the back yelled.

“Someone get the gym leader!”

“I can go to the gym leader,” Viktor offered. “You guys handle things around here; I can go to them instead.”

Sakura sighed in relief. “Thank you so much Mr. Nikiforov! You really can’t miss the gym; it’s near the hot springs.”

Viktor nodded and immediately left the pokemon center to find the gym. After asking some of the locals for directions, he finally arrived at the gym. He blinked in surprise upon finding that the gym doors were open. Anyone could come in and do damage, he thought, as he entered the gym. It was too dark inside the gym and he hadn’t brought any pokemon with him, which was a mistake on his part.

“Anybody here?” He called out.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to make out the shadow that was running towards him. Ah, a gym trainer, he thought when the girl panted and turned off the flashlight she was holding. “I’m very sorry but the gym is closed right now. And possibly for tomorrow too a-and—“

“I’m not here to challenge the gym leader,” he assured her. “I’m here to tell the gym leader that the pokemon center lost power. It’s dangerous for the pokemon there.”

“O-Oh dear!” She gasped and fumbled for the PokeNav in her pocket. “H-Hello? Yes! There’s an emergency right now! Okay, I’ll handle the gym for you guys.”

“Is everything okay?” He asked her.

“I already contacted Mr. Nishigori, he would be here in a few, oh there he is! That was quick!”

“Mika! I teleported here as soon as I heard,” Takeshi said as he ran to them. “Viktor Nikiforov?! What are you doing here?”

“I stopped by the pokemon center but the center lost power. The nurses there need to talk to you.”

“I suppose I could come instead,” Takeshi replied. “Mika, take care of the gym in my stead okay? Don’t let the triplets do anything to the gym!”

“Yes Mr. Nishigori!”

“My Gardevoir will teleport us there to save time,” the larger man said as he released his pokemon from her pokeball. “Hold on to Kaoru’s hand. Kaoru, to the pokemon center.”

The Gardevoir screeched and her eyes glowed after Viktor grabbed her hand. Viktor closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were in the pokemon center. Trainers were gathered in front of the front desk, demanding their pokemon back. The nurse, Sakura, was trying to placate them as the other nurses rushed back and forth with pokemon in stretchers.

“Oh Groudon, this is a mess,” Takeshi said as he stared wide-eyed at the commotion going on inside. “We need to make the generator up and running again but no one in Lavaridge right now has an electric pokemon. We can contact the gym leader of Mauville and convince him to lend a pokemon but our PCs are out of service too.”

“Your Gardevoir! Can’t she teleport us to Mauville?”

“Kaoru here isn’t that strong enough to teleport people to places that far. My wife took our only flying pokemon too. And my friend who also has a flying type isn’t here right now. Arceus, this is getting worse by the minute!”

“I can try to convince her to give me back my pokemon. I have a flying type.”

Viktor bit his lip and ran to the counter. He then grabbed Sakura and went inside one of the rooms. “Sakura, if it’s alright may I have my pokemon back? It’s very important that I have them right now.”

“Viktor! I’m really sorry but I can’t grant you that, even if you are a celebrity in the Contest world, it would be unfair to the other trainers who are demanding their pokemon back too.” The nurse replied with a frown.

“I don’t even need all of my pokemon,” he told her with a stern look. “I just need Lev, my Talonflame, to fly me back to Mauville and get the electric pokemon to get the generator running again.”

The female nurse took a deep breath and tried to think of the situation. She knew that all the arrows were pointing towards giving him his pokemon. But how could he get out without being seen by the trainers? Just as she was thinking of how, Takeshi suddenly ran inside the room and slammed the door shut. The noise outside was barely heard inside the room.

“Look, Sakura, just give Viktor here his pokemon, he’s our last chance. If he was here right now, we can tell him but he isn’t so Viktor is our only choice.”

Sakura sighed and nodded. “Fine, I’ll grab your pokemon just give me a minute. Takeshi, lead him to the back exit, we have to avoid more commotion at all costs. It’s stressing out the other pokemon.”

The gray haired man followed the larger man and soon they were in front of a door.  However, Sakura was still taking his pokemon so they had to wait for her. His schedule was being messed up even more. Talonflame was a fast flying type but Lavaridge and Mauville had a relatively long distance between them. It would take two or three hours at least to reach Mauville. And another two or three hours back to Lavaridge. He hasn’t even started on asking about Yuuri Katsuki either.

“It’s kind of you to do this for us,” Takeshi suddenly spoke. “You were always this celebrity, this person everyone idolized. Even my wife and my children loves you. So seeing you as this, as a…”

“As not a pompous asshole?” Viktor supplied with an amused smile. He took no offense towards the words. He supposed that being at the top disconnected him from the people, making him look unreachable and for other, an asshole like other celebrities.

“I guess you could say that,” the other trainer chuckled. “Man, my wife and Yuuri would have gone nuts if they were here. They always watched your contests in TV. Although they did end up having a different career than yours, but they really loved you.”

Viktor hummed and nodded but frowned when he heard a familiar name. He wasn’t sure if he misheard it though. “Did you just say Yuuri? Is this Yuuri as in Yuuri Katsuki?”

“Yeah! How did you know Yuuri?”

“Arceus! You know Yuuri!” He shouted in joy and a large and elated grin appeared on his face. He immediately whipped out his Holocaster and set it to record. “Where is his house here? I really need to see him!”

“Whoa! Hold up!” Takeshi yelped and put his hands in front of him as Viktor approached him closer. “Yuuri isn’t here right now! He was the one I was talking about earlier.”

“Who?”

“My friend who has a flying type. Yuuri has a very strong flying type but if I can remember—HOLY MUK! Oh right! I’m such a dumbass Mew!” He groaned and slapped himself in the cheeks. “That’s right! Yuuri left his pokemon here for some reason and borrowed from his sister! Fucking Arceus, we had an Altaria here the whole time!

“He has an Altaria?” Viktor whistled. Having an Altaria meant that you were a very dedicated and strong trainer. Swablu only evolved when they were strong and high levelled enough. Nowadays, there aren’t that many trainers who had an Altaria on their team. Swablus were extremely difficult to find and expensive to buy. Those who do have Swablus tend to give up on evolving it because of the difficulty.

“Yeah, she’s a strong one too,” Takeshi said proudly. “I saw how she grew up and Yuuri really took care of her. Too bad she doesn’t really follow any battle orders from anyone outside Yuuri now.”

“You’re a gym leader; she might try to listen to you.”

Takeshi blinked and raucously laughed. “I’m not the gym leader! Oh boy Yuuko is gonna have a field day when she finds out. My _wife_ , Yuuko, is actually the gym leader of this town. She handles fire types by the way.”

“Oh,” was the only thing Viktor could say as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment. He knew all the gym leaders and the Elite Four in Kalos but not in other regions. He supposed that he should’ve researched more on Hoenn.

“Viktor! Takeshi!” Sakura called out. “I’m really sorry! I really want to give you your pokemon back but the breaking down of the generator messed up the machines where we stored the pokeballs! If we were to remove them now, it might cause more damage. We _cannot_ risk that!”

“Will they be okay?!” He asked worriedly.

“As long as they stay in their pokeballs and in the machine, they’ll be fine,” she assured him. Her face then fell as she remembered the predicament they were in. “Oh no, that means you can’t fly to Mauville.”

“Sakura, we’re going to Hasetsu to pick up Yuuri’s pokemon. Take care of the situation here until we’re back.

 

* * *

 

 _So this is Yuuri’s home_ , he thought as they waited for Mari to come out with the pokeballs. It was nice to see a traditional house despite the advancements in technology made. It turns out that Yuuri’s family ran an inn, information that he added to his Holocaster. The inn was named Hasetsu and it gave a comfortable and languid vibe. It was the type of inn that made you want to slouch back and watch some TV and relax. And that was what the inn patrons did.

“They’re here,” Mari said, cutting off his train of thoughts. “All five pokemon of his.”

“Thank you Mari,” Takeshi sighed in relief and handed the pokeballs to Viktor. “Please take good care of them Viktor.”

“If you don’t mind, Viktor, can we talk by ourselves just for a moment?”

Mari led him to a room far from the lobby where Takeshi was waiting, and slammed the shoji door shut. Viktor gulped and wondered what kind of fate was waiting for him. Mari didn’t seem to be angry or pissed off. In fact, she was wearing a perfect poker face right now and Viktor didn’t know how to react to that

“Mari, right? I’m Viktor Nikiforov, it’s nice to—“

“I know who you are Nikiforov,” she cut him off sharply and unfolded her arms. “Let’s get this straight, those pokemon might follow your battle orders and Yuuri might not want them right now but at the end of the day, they are still my little brother’s pokemon and I fully expect you to take care of them. He _cannot_ handle losing another pokemon, not right now.”

“I understand.” He replied seriously.

“I _need_ your word for it Viktor,” Mari insisted, her voice almost on the edge of desperation. “He’s vulnerable right now and you’re his, his—“

Viktor’s eyes widened and he grabbed Mari’s arm. “His what, Mari?!”

“Nevermind that, ignore what I said—“

“But Mari!”

“I said, _ignore what I said_ ,” she said with a tone of finality. “Whatever I was supposed to say was a mistake on my part. If you really want to know, it is Yuuri’s to tell and not mine. All I am asking for is you take care of his pokemon like it’s your own.”

“What kind of trainer do you think I am?” Viktor asked her. “I wouldn’t reach where I am now if I didn’t care for my pokemon. Don’t worry about it.”

“Thank you Viktor…”

“Is Yuuri here by the way? I need to talk to him.”

“He’s not here. He left with our family pokemon and only that. I tried to convince him that leaving with only a single pokemon isn’t safe but he still did it. That idiot.”

“So where is he? I really need to see him.”

“He mentioned something about League business to help out with Lavaridge’s problem. The last time he called me he mentioned passing by Minako’s place. But I don’t know where he is now though.”

Viktor bit his lip and sighed. He’ll have to chase him again but that’s fine. “It’s okay. I can work with that. Petalburg isn’t that far from Mauville right?”

“That’s right. Petalburg is just a few miles away from Mauville so don’t worry. I think you’ll be able to see Yuuri there. If you hurry up you might see him there or along the way. Knowing Minako, she must have held him up for a while to talk.”

“Is that so…I better get going then if I want to catch up on him.”

“Wait, Viktor, I have a question for you before you leave.”

Viktor turned around and blinked. “What is it?”

“Why are you so adamant on finding Yuuri anyway?” Mari asked as she crossed her arms. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother but…what did he do to gain the attention of a world renowned celebrity like you? Especially when he’s just…”

“Don’t!” Viktor snapped at her. He couldn’t believe what Mari was saying about her own brother. He couldn’t believe how she couldn’t see the real potential inside Yuuri. “Aren’t you supposed to be his sister? Why are you downing him like that?”

Mari glared at him. “I’m not downing him. I’m telling it as it is and you know that. Yuuri is famous in our town yes but you’re a celebrity. You’re the idol of lots of people _globally_ Viktor. I’m just saying it because someone like you suddenly chasing my brother seems too suspicious for me to ignore. So if I were you, I’d spit it out.”

“He’s strong okay?”

“Like we didn’t know that already.” Mari replied and rolled her eyes.

“He’s a lot stronger than he looks,” Viktor said seriously. “He managed to make Makkachin obey him in battle and that’s just…look, it’s a long story and extremely difficult to explain. Maybe I’ll tell it next time but I can’t do it right now. Not when a pokemon center filled with pokemon are depending on me.”

A tired exhale came from the older Katsuki. “Fine, I’ll let you off this time. But I’m warning you, _don’t_ hurt Yuuri. Or else you’ll be answering to lots of people even if your name carries some weight.”

A smile appeared on his face as he stepped out the room. “I never expected any less.”

* * *

 

Riding an Altaria was a first time for Viktor, who always flew around in Kalos using his Talonflame. Yuuri’s Altaria’s wings were extremely soft and fluffy.  It seemed like people weren’t exaggerating when they said that this pokemon’s wings were like clouds. The Altaria navigated its way swiftly and smoothly through the skies, its cloud like wings and blue body making it practically undistinguishable to other people in the air unless they looked closely.

“I can’t see much up here,” Viktor muttered and patted the neck of the pokemon. “Altaria, let’s go closer to the ground to take a look.”

The dragon and flying hybrid squawked and suddenly, they were flying at a lower height. The champion coordinator kept his eyes open to any signs that a pokemon center was near. It took them only a few more minutes of hovering in the air when a bright red color caught his eyes.

“There’s the pokemon center Altaria, let’s go down.”

Altaria landed a few feet away from the center and let Viktor slide off of her. Viktor smiled and stroke her feathers while whispering encouraging words to the pokemon before sending her back to the pokeball. He clipped it back where he can feel it easily. He had to remember that this was Yuuri’s pokemon and not his and so any damage to them would send the Hoenn trainer spiralling into sadness again.

“Excuse me!” He said as he tapped a stranger. Normally, he wouldn’t do this as he preferred to keep to himself but he had to hurry or else it will be too late for the pokemon in the pokemon center in Lavaridge. “Where is the gym here?”

The person gasped upon recognizing who the man in front of him was. “A-Arceus!  Viktor Nikiforov! Wow I can’t believe—!”

“I’m very grateful but I need to go there _right now_.”

“Oh right!  Turn right and then go straight until you see a large building. It’s not very hard to miss  actually.”

“Thank you.” He replied before sprinting towards the said directions.

His eyes sparkled upon seeing that the gym was open. He cheered inwardly and entered. The gym lacked a guide that usually told beginner trainers about the dos and don’ts and gave the trainers hints how to defeat the leader. That was odd because League rules stated that at every gym must have one.

“Hello?  Is anybody in here?”

“I’ll get it! Yes? Are you looking for the gym leader Seung-Gil? If so then we’re very sorry because he’s not here right now and I was just about to close—“

The two of them froze as they stared at each other, wide-eyed. Viktor‘s mouth opened and closed before opening again in surprise. The other man gasped and dropped the bag he was holding. Viktor observed him carefully and took in every detail about this man greedily. His shining brown eyes, soft and round cheeks, black hair falling in front of his eyes, and oh Arceus, he wanted to cry so badly. The famous Coordinator stepped forward and reached out to the man, who was still frozen on the spot.

“You’re here…”

“You’re here?!”

Yuuri Katsuki was finally in front of him and he was still as gorgeous as before.

~=~

Beside him was Yuuri who was still freaking out about the whole situation. The moment Viktor tried to touch him the other man ran away but luckily, Viktor caught up to him and found him hyperventilating behind a house. He guided him through his attack and stayed with him until Yuuri was conscious enough and finally feeling fine. That didn’t mean that Yuuri still acted like he would attack him like a random pokemon from the tall grass.

“Yuuri, look at me—“

“Oh Arceus what did I do to deserve this? Why is Viktor Nikiforov in front of me I can’t believe—“

Viktor grabbed his face and forced him to look at him. “Look Yuuri, we have no time. I need to see Seung-Gil right now. It’s about your hometown, Lavaridge.”

Panic melted into confusion and then into worry upon hearing those words. “My hometown? Lavaridge? What happened?! It was fine when I left!”

“Really?” He gave him a look.

“Relatively! Relatively fine!” Yuuri amended and then stood up. “Oh Kyogre what happened?! Did the power situation worsen?”

“I’m afraid it did Yuuri,” Viktor admitted with a grimace. “The whole town now does not have any power or electricity. The pokemon in the Pokemon Center are at trouble because of this. There isn’t anyone there at the moment who has an electric pokemon so Mauville is the closest choice.”

“I-I have a pokemon that knows Thunderbolt but that won’t work right? I mean, only pure electric pokemon are known to be able to generate electricity meant for consumption and not just raw lightning or electricity.”

“That’s exactly it. So we need to have an electric pokemon right now Yuuri.”

Yuuri bit his lip and contemplated for a second. “Seung-Gil flew to the League to settle this matter. Yuuko and Minako are there too. I was passing by so I offered to close his gym for him. I suppose that his gym trainers’ pokemon can be used but with the case as large as Lavaridge, we’ll be needing a pokemon stronger than what they have and Seung-Gil brought them.”

“I don’t know much about the science behind this but I think I’m getting the gist,” the Kalosian said slowly. “So does this mean we just need a strong and high experienced electric pokemon?”

“Yes! We don’t need one that is extremely strong. We need one just strong enough to battle trainers with three or four badges and win.”

“I know where we can get one.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, but first, do you know where we can catch a cat pokemon endemic only to Hoenn?”

Yuuri nodded but looked confused. “Yes, there’s probably a wild Skitty around Mauvillle. Is there a reason?”

“I have a friend who has a Luxray, a powerful one at that but I doubt that he will give it up easily. So I need something to trade in exchange of his Luxray.”

That was how they found themselves diving in the tall grass in hopes of looking for the small pokemon. They didn’t use any repel at all because the Skitties in this area were still young and weak. They would have to rely on their luck to not encounter any strong pokemon and fight. Usually, with baby or young pokemon, they didn’t need to be fought to be caught. Baiting them with pokeblocks or poffins and petting them would usually make them come willingly.

However, sometimes the mother of the young pokemon would not allow them to leave, resulting to a fight. That was what Viktor was trying to avoid as the pokemon in their arsenal as of now would gravely injure the mother pokemon and he didn’t want that to happen. Not when other babies might be relying on her too.

“Viktor,” whispered Yuuri who was crouching. “There’s one there.”

“Okay, let’s go closer.” He grabbed the other man’s hand and led him towards there, making him flush. _He’s cute when he’s flustered_ , he thought of with a smile.

“Now throw this pokeblock near it,” the bespectacled trainer handed him a blue pokeblock. “Skitties tend to like blue pokeblocks in general so it’s our safest bet.”

“You must be used to this huh.”

“Something like that.” Yuuri answered vaguely but Viktor decided to ignore it.

The blue pokeblock landed near the little Skitty, who sniffed it and looked around. It nudged it for a few seconds before circling it and looking around again. It seemed to be observing if someone dropped it. After deeming it safe to eat, the Skitty nibbled it and mewled. Viktor and Yuuri exchanged happy looks and they continued to throw more pokeblocks until the Skitty was finally in front of them.

At first, the Skitty was startled but it saw the pokeblock in Yuuri’s hand. It eyed the two trainers carefully before nibbling the pokeblock in his hand. The grass behind them rustled, making all of them jump in surprise and the Skitty bit Yuuri’s hand.

“Ow!”

“Shit! Yuuri are you okay?!”

“It’s fine, I’m fine, where’s the Skitty?!”

“Wait! Come back Skitty!” The pokemon was now running away from them but stopped in its tracks when an Electrike appeared from the grass, sparks of electricity running through its fur. The Skitty whimpered and ran back while the other pokemon chased it.

Yuuri immediately released his Quagsire from its pokeball. The pokemon stood between the Skitty and the Electrike. Skitty ran behind the larger pokemon for protection at once. The Electrike growled but Quagsire just tilted its head. Electrike then let out a spark of electricity towards the larger and more experienced pokemon but nothing happened. Upon noticing that the other pokemon was clearly stronger than it, the electric pokemon ran away.

“Shh, it’s okay, Skitty, it’s okay,” Yuuri spoke to the Skitty in a soft voice and rubbed its back gently. “It’s gone now.”

The Skitty continued whimpering and burrowed its face in Yuuri’s jacket. Viktor watched the debacle in awe. It was obvious that Yuuri’s reflexes were faster than the normal Ace Trainer. He never saw someone else whip out their pokemon that fast except for himself, Yuri, and Kalos’s Elite Four. Yuuri was obviously an experienced battler and trainer, his stance and actions said so. The Quagsire must also be the family pokemon Mari was talking about but Yuuri commanded it in such a way that one would think that the Quagsire was a pokemon that battled constantly.

 _You are such a mystery Yuuri Katsuki_ , he thought as Yuuri talked the little pokemon into being caught.

* * *

 

“We’re here!” Yuuri and Viktor yelled as they ran inside the Pokemon Center and to the counter.

The Pokemon Center nurse gasped and cheered. She then led them to where the generator for the Center was. “Thank Arceus! You guys came just in time! Let’s go! Time’s a wasting!”

“Let’s go Dmitri!” A Luxray came out of the pokeball and observed his surroundings carefully. He eyed everyone and calmed down a bit when his eyes landed on Viktor, who was a familiar face.

Viktor crouched down and scratched him on his neck, knowing that the pokemon liked to be scratched there. “Dmitri, used Spark there.”

The Luxray tilted his head to the side before following the direction where his new trainer’s finger was pointing to. He bounded towards it before sniffing it. Afterwards, he nodded, regarded it as safe, and looked back at Viktor.

“Use Spark.”

Dmitri raised his behind in the air, scratched the ground, and then growled. After a few seconds, the fur on the Luxray’s body raised and light was emitted. His tail, which now stood up straight as a rod, twitched. The Luxray then turned around and slammed his electrically charged tail on the metal machine.

“I think it is working!” Sakura exclaimed. True to her words, they only had to wait a minute before the lights went back on and the sounds of cheering from the lobby were heard. “Thank you so much, Yuuri! Viktor! I’m sorry but I have to go tend to the pokemon in the machines now! Thank you again!”

“You did a good job Dmitri.” Viktor said to the Luxray, who preened at the compliment. “But your job isn’t over yet, we still have to fix the power situation of the whole town. However, I promise to give you high quality Tuna once we’re done.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to spoil the pokemon like that?” Yuuri asked worriedly as he observed the pokemon lick himself.

He waved him off and smiled. “Oh it’s fine. Yuri pampers and spoils him more than I do to my pokemon. We should go catch up with the gym trainers and see if they’re there already.”

Before, Lavaridge didn’t have a power plant. But more people decided to settle down in Lavaridge, thus the demand for electricity also increased. By the time the two of them reached the power plant, the gym trainers were already working on trying to revive the power plant. It wasn’t that difficult to find out where they were because they were causing quite a commotion with all their electric attacks. Granted that it wouldn’t be permanent but it would buy them time until the League comes here.

“Good job guys, Seung-Gil would be proud.” Yuuri told them, earning a round of happy shouts.

“Let’s do our part now, shall we Dmitri? Now use Thunderbolt!” The Luxray meowed in agreement and did as he was told.

The two of them shielded their eyes from the intense light and backed away to where the other trainers were. As the minutes passed by, more and more citizens of Lavaridge came to watch the spectacle and cheer them on. Some came with reports on whether what they were doing was working and some came with pokeblocks and water to replenish the pokemon’s energy.

“That Luxray sure is powerful,” murmured Yuuri.

Viktor nodded and smiled. “He is. He’s  the pokemon of someone I know. I had to exchange that Skitty we caught because I know that he wouldn’t trade his pokemon for just any other pokemon. He has very high standards for pokemon too.”

“But…that skitty wasn’t really strong Viktor. It’s a normal Skitty, nothing outstanding about it. It’s the same with the other wild pokemon.”

“He likes feline pokemon. And I suppose that we could appease him if we traded another cat pokemon in exchange of his,” He replied. He then snapped his fingers. “Oh right! I almost forgot!”

“Viktor…what are you doing?”

“Here are your pokemon Yuuri,” He unclipped the pokeballs from his belt and grabbed the other man’s hand. Yuuri’s hand automatically opened and Viktor dropped them pokeballs in his hand. “You shouldn’t leave your pokemon just like that! Travelling with no pokemon at all is dangerous even if you’re using transportation!”

“But…”

“They’re your pokemon and they must have been worried about you! Not releasing or talking to them for weeks! Yuuri—“

“I don’t deserve them anymore Viktor!” Yuuri shouted, catching the attention of some of the trainers and passerby.

Viktor on the other hand, was dumbfounded. “What do you mean?...Yuuri are you listening to yourself?”

“I know what I said Viktor,” Yuuri said with a sigh and returned the pokeballs back to the other man. “But I really don’t deserve them anymore.

 

Besides, I already revoke my trainer card to the League. I’m not a trainer anymore Viktor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR MORE THAN A MONTH I'M SO SORRY.  
> Actually, the chapter was already 3/4ths done last month but I kept on revising it for the plot and such and I had so many (handwritten) papers but the sem has just started. I'll try to update faster next time guys! That's the problem with me, I don't really permanently plan the plot of my stories because the plot always seem to evolve. The original plot isn't like this at all hahaha. 
> 
> Btw, for the updates, should I update in short chapters like 1000-2500 words (but more recent) or longer updates but longer waiting time? (this update is roughly 5500 words i plan to update with 7-8K words next time lol)
> 
> Also, THANK YOU FOR THE SUGGESTIONS GUYS!! I considered your suggestions for Yuuri and Viktor's pokemon team. I accepted some of them but I didn't for some of them because some would seem redundant. Especially for Yuuri's case, who battled and travelled for a living. You need to have a balanced team for that kind of career lol. Viktor's career as a Coordinator...not so much but I have a surprise for this guy kasi haha. You'll find out in the near future.
> 
> Talk to me or ask me about this fic in my tumblr: iwacares.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wherein Yuuri and Viktor get their shit together

“So how are you doing?” Takeshi asked as he slid up next to Viktor who was petting Makkachin.

“I’m fine,” was the reply he got from the other man. Takeshi sighed and thought of a way on how to pull both of his friends from their slump. Ever since their fight the other day, Viktor and Yuuri refused to talk to each other and back down from their beliefs. He knew that Yuuri was stubborn as a bull but he didn’t expect Viktor to be the same. Actually, that was his mistake. He should have expected Viktor to be as stubborn as Yuuri.

Viktor had been staying in the Hasetsu Inn for two weeks now to help his pokemon recuperate, or at least that was what he said. But despite how much he might hide it or how big their fight was, Takeshi knew that Viktor wanted to stay with Yuuri a bit longer.

“Yuuri is just as stubborn as or possibly even more stubborn than you are, you know,” he said casually. “I wasn’t there when you two fought and I don’t know the exact reason why you’re after Yuuri but unless you want to chase him all over Hoenn again, I’d talk to him if I were you.”

This seemed to have caught the other man’s attention because Viktor suddenly whipped his head towards Takeshi in shock and stopped petting the large pokemon. “What do you mean chase him all over again? Did Yuuri leave?”

“Viktor—! Ugh, I can’t just take a break can I?” Takeshi muttered to himself as he watched Viktor mount his Arcanine and dash off towards the inn.

“Makkachin, let’s hurry and catch up with Yuuri.” Viktor said to his pokemon, who responded with a bark before speeding up.

 _Don’t leave yet Yuuri, please,_ he thought to himself as he recalled their argument two weeks ago.

~

_“What do you mean you revoke your trainer card?” Viktor asked him, his smile falling off his face. “It’s okay, you still have 6 months in case you want to change your mind right? I mean that’s the rule in Kalos but we all have the same League so that must apply here too right?”_

_“No Viktor,” Yuuri replied. “I won’t be going back to the League to change my request. I decided on this already and I would only impose the League further if I retracted my request.”_

_“But Yuuri! You’re...You’re a great trainer! Why would you do that?!”_

_“I’m not a great trainer okay?! I don’t know what you ate that made you think that but—“_

_Viktor cut him off with a glare. “I didn’t eat anything to make me think that! Everyone here knows that! Why would you do this to yourself?! Why would you do this to your pokemon?!”_

_“My pokemon are the exact reason why I did this! I don’t deserve my pokemon! They…They deserve a better trainer that can actually win them battles and take care of them! I can’t do that!”_

_“That’s not just yours do decide Yuuri!”_

_“Yes it is! Now if you’re done, I have to go.” Yuuri spat out and turned to leave._

_Viktor gritted his teeth and grabbed him by the arm. “No you’re not! You’re wasting your potential Yuuri!”_

_“I don’t have potential Viktor!” Yuuri replied, exasperated and tried to remove the other man’s grip but Viktor held on. “You’re delusional to think that! Have you seen my battle stats?!”_

_“Yes you do, and you’re more that what you think you are! And what would your pokemon do then?! You’ll just abandon them?! Give them to another trainer after forming a special bond with them and making them strong?! Have you even askd them if they wanted that?Well guess what Yuuri, that’s not for you to decide only. That’s for your pokemon’s as well. And you don’t get to decide what others want.”_

_Yuuri bit his lip, grabbed his arm back vehemently, and glared at Viktor with glassy eyes. “Are you listening to yourself Nikiforov? Because what you just said applies to you as well. You don’t get to decide what I do in my life.”_

_~_

“Yuuri?!” He asked loudly as he slammed the door to the inn open, startling some of the guests.

Mari stepped out from the kitchen with a frown and her Quagsire tottering behind her. “What’s going on Viktor? My brother’s not here. He told me he’d be gone for a while though.”

“Did he say where he would go?” He pressed on.

This made Mari look sharply at Viktor in suspicion. “No…but did something happen?”

“No, I mean yes something did but—“

“ _Viktor_.” Mari said warningly.

“We fought okay?” Viktor replied exasperatedly. “It was my fault and I know it was stupid but Yuuri couldn’t see how great of a person and trainer he is and…And I’ve managed to think about what I’ve said to him two weeks  ago so now, now, I want to make amends. I want, no, I need to talk to him Mari. I need to set things straight.”

“Finally, I was thinking how long it would take you to do this,” Mari smirked and threw her cigarette in the bin. “He usually goes off alone when he needs to think or vent.”

“ _Alone?_ And how did you know anyway?”

“If you thought for one second that I wouldn’t know about the fight you two had then you’re mistaken. Who do you think Yuuri rants to? And the people here in Lavaridge aren’t exactly good at culling gossips too.”

“I—okay, but where is he Mari? And that’s dangerous! Going alone without a pokemon?!”

Mari rolled her eyes and rubbed her Quagsire’s head absently. “He probably took a bus to Route 114. It’s where he always go whenever he wants to be alone.”

“Route 114? Okay, okay, thanks Mari, I’ll go after Yuuri. I’ll be back later!”

Mari lighted another cigarette and took a slow drag. “He really does fit with Yuuri. He could’ve waited to talk until Yuuri came home, neh Aone?”

The Quagsire stared back at her with its usually ridiculous blank smile.

* * *

 

Thankfully, the journey to Route 114 was only took him an hour. Granted that he used the bus and broke his promise to himself that he’d travel the entirety of Hoenn with his feet. Well, in his opinion, the situation was a battle against time because any moment now, Yuuri could suddenly decide to leave Lavaridge and go backpacking again.

And that would be extremely stupid and dangerous of him to do so because without a trainer card, he wouldn’t be able to use his pokemon to battle others. With the rise of new groups masquerading as the old Team-insert-group-name villains from decades ago, going on a journey without a pokemon or a trainer card would put you at their mercy.

“Where exactly can Yuuri be here?” He muttered to himself as he walked around the small town with his Arcanine. If Lavaridge was small, then Route 114 was smaller and that was understandable because Route 114 was, as the name implied, a route.

“Makka! Wait! Come back here!” He yelled as he ran after his pokemon.

Unfortunately, the Arcanine was much faster than him, despite how physically fit he was. There is also a great chance that his pokemon was slowing down so he could keep up because he could still see his pokemon and Arcanines run extremely fast. His pokemon was a little shit, he decided.

He ran past a group of tourists and immediately yelped out an apology whenever he hit one of them. A few gave him dirty looks but many of them gasped when they realized that the renowned celebrity Viktor Nikiforov was here and he just slammed into them. He quickly picked up pace when he noticed that the figure of Makkachin was becoming smaller.

“Makkachin! Bad pokemon! You don’t run off in an unknown area just like that!” He scolded his pokemon, who merely whined and dragged his owner deeper inside.

His pokemon made him chase him to a cave. Viktor didn’t know what Makkachin wanted inside this cave. The cave was impressive and had a huge waterfall inside. He followed his pokemon to the other side of the bridge and marvelled at the beauty of the cave. He looked down and saw the water cascading down. There were a few surskit in the water playing and zubats hanging above him.

Arceus, he really missed adventuring.

“Where are we anyway?” He asked as he observed his surroundings and checked his Holocaster. “Meteor falls huh? Makkachin come back here already, we need to find Yuuri.”

He went to where the Arcanine was. Makkachin barked playfully as he pawed the sand-like ledges. He approached the said ledges and touched it. It was grainy to touch but visually, it looked soft and gel-like. He looked pointedly at Makkachin as if to tell him to behave but Makkachin merely lolled it tongue out and slowly put his paw on the ledge.

“Makkachin,” he said warningly and slowly approached the Arcanine with his pokeball in hand. “Come back now, stop messing around.”

Makkachin seemed to have seen the pokeball because he barked and suddenly jumped down on the ledges quickly. By the time Viktor realized what just happened, the pokemon was too far for the pokeball to reach. He cursed under his breath and followed his pokemon by jumping down the ledges too.

“Wait! Oof!” He shouted as he lost his footing and slipped down the ledges.

Viktor groaned as he rubbed his butt and glared at the said ledges. He winced as he heard a crack when he stretched his arms. He really was getting old, he thought with a pout. His eyes immediately went to seek his mischievous pokemon who led him to this situation. Makkachin won’t be getting any treats tonight, he swore to himself.

“Viktor? Oh, so that’s why you’re here Makkachin.” A voice said in a confused manner.

Viktor  looked up and his eyes widened upon what he saw. “Yuuri? You’re here?”

Yuuri fiddled with his fingers and nodded shyly. “Yeah, I…I usually go here whenever I need to think or when I just want to be alone. What are you doing here anyway?”

“I…I needed to talk to you actually.”

“Talk to me? O-oh,” Yuuri bowed his head and looked away. “Are you not mad at me anymore?”

Viktor blinked and his eyes bugged out at what the other man said. “Why would I be mad at you? And I’m supposed to be the one asking that question. Are you not mad at me anymore?”

“I was never mad at you Viktor, I don’t think I can ever be mad at you,” Yuuri replied and shook his head. “And I thought you’d be mad at me after…after I blew up on you back then.”

Yuuri then sat on the ground and dipped his feet in the cold water. Viktor silently sat next to him and did the same while Makkachin lied down beside him. He gave the overgrown canine a sharp look before turning his attention back on Yuuri.

“What you told me made me think,” the bespectacled Hoenn native admitted while swinging his legs on the water. “It was incredibly cruel on my part to just abandon my pokemon. It was selfish and stupid of me not to think what would happen to them if I suddenly gave them up.”

Yuuri then lifted his feet out of the water and hugged his knees. He wanted to look at Viktor but he was afraid that the tears might fall if he did. He settled for giving a watery laugh. “I’m such a terrible and selfish trainer. I’m just…a collection of bad traits all lumped up together and no redeeming quality whatsoever.”

“Oh Yuuri…” was the only thing Viktor can say. He didn’t know how to handle these kinds of situations. He didn’t know how to comfort people. He lived alone for a majority of his life with only himself and his pokemon  and he didn’t know how he could make Yuuri feel better.

“I’m sorry for saying those cruel words to you Viktor; I know you just wanted to help and I shouldn’t have said those.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have interfered too. You were right. It was your decision. I have no right to make decisions for you or your pokemon. It was selfish of me too.”

Silence between them ensued and only the flow of the water was heard. Viktor looked at Yuuri and saw that he had the same look on his face that he had on Mt. Pyre. It was the look of mixed loneliness and longing. It was the look of someone who missed something or someone dearly. It was a look Viktor was all too familiar with.

But beyond that, there was something else mixed in with that look. Self-hatred, anguish, and a myriad of more emotions were probably in that look too. And Viktor hated it. Viktor hated that Yuuri Katsuki hated himself. Viktor only knew him for an extremely short time but he hated the fact that Yuuri couldn’t see how amazing he was. He couldn’t see how the people around him loved him genuinely.

Something in his heart twisted sourly when he thought about it. Was it envy? He didn’t think he can ever be maliciously envious of Yuuri. But he was envious of the genuine love people gave him. He pushed the sour thoughts away and focused on the issue in front of him.

“Is it okay if I…if I asked what exactly happened?” The question was vague but both of them understood what Viktor was trying to ask.

He wanted to know what made Yuuri hate himself so much. He wanted to know what or who destroyed his belief in his self.

“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to though.” Viktor quickly amended.

Yuuri sighed and shook his head. “No it’s okay. I’ve come to terms that Vicchan already died.”

“Vicchan?”

“Yes,” a small and sad smile appeared on Yuuri’s face and Viktor wanted to capture it in a photograph. “I once had an Arcanine too. His name was Vicchan. He was my starter pokemon. He was the best Arcanine I could ever have. He had always been there you know? He saw how I first struggled, how I trained for my first gym. He was a fire type but he managed to beat the Rustboro City gym leader, who used rock and ground types.

He defeated the last pokemon for my eight gym badge. He defeated a water type, can you believe that? Vicchan was so amazing and wonderful and I-I still miss him Viktor. I’ve come to terms that he’s dead. That he won’t be back but it still hurts you know? It’s like having this empty chamber in my heart. My heart is still there but it’s empty. I still love battling but I don’t know how to anymore. He knew me for the entirety of his life and now that I let him die…I’ve let him down. I wasn’t strong enough to help him pull through.”

Tears were now cascading down as his face clenched in mourning. Viktor let Yuuri let it all out because he knew he needed it. Yuuri probably didn’t have time or anyone to vent his feelings to because of all the commotion that was happening in Lavaridge. Even after his pokemon died, he still had to carry the burden of being helping his hometown.

He didn’t know whether he should hug the man or not so he settled in putting a hand on his back and rubbing it gently. That was what his Gallade did to him whenever he needed to be comforted. He smiled at Yuuri, silently telling him that he could lean on his shoulder if he wanted to. Yuuri then turned his face to Viktor and laid his head on his shoulder.

“I’m so sorry you had to see me like this.” Yuuri said and sniffled.

“It’s fine,” He replied. “I’m actually glad I was able to see you like this.”

“You’re glad you could see me crying like a Whismur?”

Viktor chuckled. “No, I’m glad I could see you like this because that means that you trust me at some rate, right?”

“I-I guess I do. I do trust you Viktor.”

“I’m glad.”

“I never really told you how Vicchan died.”

“No, it’s okay Yuuri, you don’t have to tell me.”

“No, no, as I said earlier, I’m fine, or at least I think I am. And I think it’s time someone else other than me knew what really happened.”

Viktor nodded and internally mourned the loss of the feeling of having Yuuri in his arms when Yuuri moved away to sit straight. “If you say so, then I’m all ears.”

“I was en route to the Pokemon League.  I only had five pokemon with me and normally I’d fly to the League but I couldn’t because I left my Altaria with my parents to guard them. It hasn’t really been in the news but Hoenn has been having problems with Neo-Magma and Aqua groups. They’ve been targeting new trainers and small daycares. The Neo-Magma and Aqua was everything the old Team Magma and Team Aqua wanted but at the same time didn’t. In history, Magma and Aqua were enemies but this Neo team decided to work together. But they didn’t really fight for what Team Magma and Team Aqua wanted or their ideals. They just wanted to steal fire and water pokemon and wreak havoc.”

“So Kalos isn’t the only one having these problems huh. And this Neo-Magma and Aqua are more similar to Team Rocket than Team Magma and Team Aqua themselves.” Viktor said.

“That’s right. We’ve received reports about them gaining more and more support and that was the reason why I had to go to the League. But while I was in the Victory Road, I’ve encountered hordes of the Neo-Magma and Aqua grunts. It turned out that they wanted to create a headquarters inside the victory road.  Hiding right underneath the nose of the League was intelligent I admit but they were gonna get discovered sooner or later.

 I had to battle their admins. It was tiring but my pokemon and I won eventually. But four of them fainted with the exception of Vicchan. I ran out Revives, Antidotes, and Potions trying to defeat their leader and their admins. I would have called back-up but there was no reception in the Victory Road. I thought it was finally over but while I was trying to run out, a herd of Lairon blocked our path. And…And Vicchan was exhausted from all the fighting.

H-He tried to protect me even at the cost of his life. He still fought even though I told him to stop. I didn’t even notice he was poisoned from our previous battle. We escaped  the last pokemon but there was no Pokemon Center nearby. I couldn’t protect him Viktor.”

~

_“Vicchan stop!” He screamed but the Arcanine kept on stomping his feet, creating more vibrations. Another Lairon lost its footing and fainted but another was still standing strong._

_Vicchan growled and kept his trainer behind him at all times and away from the wild pokemon. The last standing Lairon huffed and reared its foot. Yuuri’s eyes widened as he recognized the position. The Lairon was assuming an offensive stance and it will be charging itself into them with all its remaining power. It was kind of like a suicide attack. It would be strong and powerful but it would make it faint._

_“Vicchan come here, get back,” he told his pokemon as he tried to pull him away. “Vicchan, don’t meet the attack head-on! It will be better if we try to avoid it instead! The other Lairons have fainted. We can escape now!”_

_But that wasn’t the whole truth. Since this was its last and final attack, the Lairon would be pouring all effort and power into that single attack and would not stop until it hit its opponent. Vicchan maybe fast and agile but he was also exhausted from the nonstop battling._

_Yuuri cursed and decided to take things in his hand. He mounted the Arcanine, muttering an apology when Vicchan rumbled in pain when he touched a wound. He kissed the head of the pokemon before gripping his mane tightly._

_“Vicchan, you can’t fight it right now. You’re too weak,” he reminded the Arcanine. “Put all your energy into fleeing.”_

_“Wait for the Lairon to be near us then leap forward. The Lairon will probably too slow to catch up to us.”_

_The Arcanine barked and readied himself. True enough, the Lairon charged and once it was in front of them, Vicchan leaped forward and past the Steel and Rock pokemon. Vicchan then ran as fast as he could and he didn’t stop until they could no longer see the Lairon._

_“Good job Vicchan, you did a good job,” he said and smiled at his pokemon. “Vicchan?...Are you okay? Oh no. Oh nonono.”_

_Yuuri immediately dug into his bag to search for an Antidote and cried out when he couldn’t find one. He cursed and removed everything in his bag to search for anything that can cure Vicchan’s poisoning. He didn’t have a berry or an antidote or a potion on him, he realized. That was when the panic started to settle in._

_“HELP!” He shouted as he desperately tried to hold on to his tired pokemon. “SOMEBODY HELP US! PLEASE!”_

_He buried his face in the Arcanine’s mane and felt tears slipping out. “Don’t do this to me Vicchan, please don’t do this to me. Hang in there buddy, we’re gonna get you to a Center soon and you’ll be okay.”_

_Vicchan yapped weakly and nudged Yuuri’s hands with his snout. Yuuri hugged him tighter and felt all semblance of hope drain from his body when he saw his pokemon lay on his side. The tears dripped down faster upon seeing Vicchan smile at him._

_Choking back a sob, he fell to his knees and stared blankly at his now lifeless and pallid pokemon._

_He was stuck in Victory Road with no more items or pokemon left and his starter pokemon just died. Yuuri didn’t know what to do anymore._

_~_

“I wanted to die at that time,” Yuuri quietly admitted. “Actually, I thought I was going to die at that time. I didn’t have anything on me to protect myself against aggressive wild pokemon. There was no one around.  Thankfully, a Ranger was patrolling and saw us.”

“I’m so sorry,” was the only thing appropriate he could think of what to say.

Viktor didn’t know what else to say. He feared that he say something wrong or offensive. He knew loneliness yes but he never experienced the loss of a pokemon. He felt like he was intruding on Yuuri personally when he heard the story. The way Yuuri told it was so full of raw anguish and remembrance that he felt like a voyeur.

“It’s okay it’s-it’s not your fault Viktor.”

“Then you should know that it’s not your fault either,” Viktor said and grabbed his hand, startling the Hoenn native. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. Don’t punish yourself by denying yourself what you love.”

“But Viktor, if I continued to be a trainer, my other pokemon would suffer the same fate. It won’t be right now but my losses will eventually catch up to me and my pokemon. I’d rather suffer alone than bring my pokemon into it. They deserve so much better than a failure of a trainer who couldn’t even recognize poisoning in his pokemon.”

“Yuuri, is this really your final decision? Do you really not want to be with your pokemon anymore? Because if it is, then I want you to look at me straight in the eye and tell me that you don’t want them anymore.”

“Viktor, _please_.”

Viktor held the other man’s chin and looked at him straight in the eye, making his cheeks flush red. Yuuri tried to look away but for some reason, he couldn’t. Maybe it was because of the fact that his long time idol was in front of him and grabbing his chin, as if he was going to kiss him or maybe it was the fact that this angle made the said idol’s eyes look much brighter and more beautiful than normal.

“I-I-I…I don’t…I don’t want.” He tried to choke out the words but he knew that deep inside, he still wanted to be with his pokemon.

“Yuuri, do you honestly want to give your pokemon away to random strangers? To strangers who might abuse or take advantage of them?”

“I don’t! No trainer wants that okay?!”

“Then don’t leave them without telling anyone. Don’t leave Lavaridge without anyone knowing. Stay with them.” _Stay with me_.

“What do you mean ‘leave’?” Yuuri asked, confused with what the older man said.

“W-Well, weren’t you going to travel on your own again? Without your pokemon? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“No? I mean, I was going to go back to Hasetsu after I cleared my head.”

“O-oh…” _You’re an idiot Viktor_ , he chided himself mentally for assuming things.

“Is that why you chased after me here?”

“Yeah, I thought you’d go off on your own again,” Viktor then jutted out his bottom lip and pouted. “That was mean of you Yuuri, you ran away from me in Mt. Pyre!”

“I was shocked okay? It’s not everyday you see Viktor Nikiforov hanging around in Hoenn!”

“Why Yuuri, Hoenn is a perfectly good place to hang around in.”

And just like that, the heavy mood transitioned smoothly into a light one. _He must have wanted to have someone listen to him_ , Viktor mentally noted as Makkachin woke up and licked Yuuri playfully. He didn’t know that the death of Yuuri’s Vicchan was that horrible. He didn’t know that Yuuri tried to keep it to himself and bottled all those emotions in one place. He knew what it was like to bottle up your emotions but he also knew it was dangerous.

The two of them decided that it was time to leave. By the time they left Meteor Falls, a palette of orange and red was splashed across the sky, reminding them that it was already sunset and it was time to go back to Lavaridge.

They walked side by side in comfortable quiet. In the short span of time that he spent in Lavaridge, he was never able to get past Yuuri’s walls. They always had this air of forced civility between them because of their argument. He didn’t want that. He wanted to get to know Yuuri but their pride got between them. And now that they were on speaking terms, he wouldn’t let the opportunity slip past him.

* * *

 

He looked at his side and saw Yuuri dozing off, his head nodding occasionally as the bus encounters a few bumps. He was very cute, Viktor admitted. Viktor knew he was attracted to Yuuri and there would be no point in denying it because he knew how to appreciate beauty.

But Yuuri Katsuki was more than just a visually appealing person. His confession about Vicchan’s death all but affirmed his existence as one of the strongest trainers in Hoenn. No normal trainer can take down an up and coming villainous team.

Granted that the said team was still new and probably not as established as the previous teams but it was still a large achievement. Yuuri could even be compared to the leagues of the old Hoenn Champion May from decades ago.

 _Now that I thought about it, where is the Hoenn Champion?_ Viktor rubbed his chin as he tried to rack his brain on information about the Hoenn Champion but couldn’t come up with anything. _Shouldn’t it be the Champion’s duty to oversee these kinds of things? Why did Yuuri have to investigate the whole debacle on his own? Something’s not right with this._

He sighed and decided to give up. He didn't have deeper information about Hoenn’s League so it would not do him well to assume things about it. His mind then wandered back to something Yuuri said earlier.

“Yuuri?” He nudged the man softly.

Yuuri stirred. “Mhmm, yes Viktor?”

“You…you don’t feel that way anymore do you?”

“Huh?”

“What you felt when you were alone in Victory Road, you don’t feel that anymore right?”

Yuuri opened his eyes and contemplated for a second before shaking his head. “No…Not anymore. I felt like that for a month or two but going back and forth to Vicchan’s grave, I didn’t feel like that anymore.”

“Thank Arceus.” Viktor was glad. He was so glad he wanted to kiss Yuuri’s head but that could probably postponed because he didn’t know if Yuuri will consent to it.

“I thought about what you said and…Thank you Viktor.”

Now, the Kalosian was genuinely confused. “Huh? Did I do something Yuuri?”

“I don’t know what made you want to look for me but I’m glad. I’m glad someone slapped some sense into me. I won’t abandon my pokemon anymore,” Yuuri’s voice then became softer that he had to inch closer to hear what he said next. “Thank you for teaching me again how to move.”

 _Oh Yuuri_ , he thought fondly. _If you only knew, that you did the same for me and that you made me experience what it felt like to be an adventurer again._

“So…I want to live again. For my family, for my friends, and for my pokemon,” _And for you_ , Yuuri added but he didn’t have the courage to say it right now. “If you will have me, can you teach me how to be a Coordinator? I-If it’s okay with you I mean.”

The corners of his lips lifted up and before Viktor knew it, he was beaming. He was smiling so much it hurt and he hadn’t smiled this genuinely or this big for a long while. Everything about Yuuri and everything he did was a wonderful surprise, he decided.

He wanted to hug this man so tightly right now. This was Yuuri reaching back to him. And he couldn’t be any happier. He chased down this man for weeks and now he was reaching out to him.

“Oh Yuuri, it’s more than okay with me,” he couldn’t help himself; he kissed Yuuri’s hand and watched his cheeks pink. “You’ll be the best Coordinator the world has ever seen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!!! This update is relatively faster but shorter than the last one. Well for me it is lol. Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story! Everytime I read your responses, I am very much overjoyed. I try to respond to all of you and i'm sorry if I can't reply to some D: I'll try to update more but I can feel the hell week coming (aka exams week). Once I finish this story, I'll probably get started on the Harvest Moon AU! I'm planning to publish. Officially, the notes end here but you can read what I wrote past this lol.
> 
> Here are some clarifications for this chapter:  
> 1\. Yuuri had depression. A very bad one at that. He was the one who lost his will to live and motivation. Now in canon universe, it was Viktor who lost his will and motivation but reminders that this story's Yuuri and Viktor is different from canon! Yuuri and Viktor because they have different pasts and careers. It wouldn't be too different to the point that they're OOC (or at least I hope) or to the point that they look like OCs. In this AU, Viktor still lost his inspiration for Coordinating but Yuuri himself lost the will to live for the first few weeks of Vicchan's death  
> 2\. Viktor's motivations for chasing Yuuri is entirely pure and a result of need for human accomplice. While he does have his pokemon, it was Yuuri who impressed him for a long time and touched his heart. You can say that Viktor was merely wanting Yuuri by his side and nothing else. He's not in love with Yuuri yet. He's getting there though.  
> 3\. There's this person who pointed out about the Seung-Gil part. Thank you!!! Seung-Gil here is male and the leader of Mauville gym guys. I'm glad you pointed it out because I didn't want it to cause confusion in the later chapters (thought Seung-Gil won't have that big of a part in the plot).  
> 4\. This chapter basically cleared Yuuri's character. We'll get to Viktor's soon enough. I'm sorry if you guys thought of this chapter as too dragging but I had to reveal Yuuri's past to avoid future plot complications :c  
> 5\. I dropped a large hint on this chapter about Yuuri's past guys. Very large.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Viktor meets the Katsukis and the two of them meet the League

Viktor patted Makkachin’s fur as he tapped the post button and uploaded the pictures they took. After their talk in the cave, he and Yuuri had grown significantly closer. He was rather thankful that Yuuri told him about what happened to his pokemon. He knew his pokemon died but he didn’t know it was in a gruesome and haunting way. Yuuri is strong to be able to still stand up and continue on with life despite his starter’s death. If that was Makkachin…he bit his lip and tightened his hug on the Arcanine. He couldn’t even bear to think about losing his starter pokemon.

Yuuri opening up to him about Vicchan was a huge step forward in their relationship. Sure, they’re not exactly best friends yet and he hasn’t completely opened up to him but it was a far cry from the relationship they first had.

Stupid, he thought with a sigh, do we even have a relationship?

That’s another one of his dilemma right now. It was his curiosity and instincts that told him to follow the powerful man who managed to order his pokemon around. Technically, he should be worried because if someone could order his pokemon just like that then Kalos will be in danger. Viktor knew that people tend to tell him that he’s vain and at times arrogant but it’s a fact that he is one of the strongest trainers in Kalos and possibly, also in the world. So how strong was Yuuri actually? And are there other trainers stronger than Yuuri in Hoenn?

Yes, he’s doing this for the safety of Kalos and the world, he reminded himself. But he also knew that deep inside him; he followed Yuuri because he sparked the challenge in him again. Being at the top was dull and empty. But seeing Yuuri battle like that, it was like he was renewed again. People said that he was the strongest and the most beautiful battler of all time but during that moment in Mt. Pyre, Viktor would gladly fight them about that.

“Viktor, are you ready?” Yuuri called from outside his room.

Viktor grabbed his bag and stood up, Makkachin following suit. Yuuri smiled when Makkachin pounced on him playfully when the door opened. It really seemed like his pokemon took a liking to the Hoenn native.

“Yuuri, you’re leaving?” Mari asked upon seeing them in the lobby.

Yuuri nodded. “Yeah, I figured that if we should head to the League, we should do it early just in case we face some complications there along the way.”

This piqued Viktor’s curiosity. “Complications?”

“Yeah, the League only allows direct flight if you have permission,” Yuuri turned to him. “And since I’m not a trainer anymore, we have to do it the old fashioned way. Unless of course, you can request permission but the Hoenn League became stricter since the whole debacle.”

“Permission you say?...” Viktor hummed and rubbed his chin.

“Yeah. Usually, you can go around that rule if someone from the Elite 4 or the Champion themselves gave you permission and contacted the League. Unfortunately, I can’t call Phichit in for a favor right now because he’s in Alola for League business.”

Then suddenly, Yuuri’s PokeNav rang loudly drawing in the attention of Viktor and some patrons. “Excuse me I have to take this.”

It didn’t take Yuuri long to talk to whoever was on the phone. He returned sighing and whispering something to Mari’s ears. The older Katsuki raised a brow and nodded before going inside a room.

“What happened Yuuri?”

“I was supposed to only carry five pokemon but something came up so Mari had to get one of the inn pokemon.”

“Here she is,” Mari said as she emerged from the room, holding a great ball. “Rina would probably our best bet for them. She can at least tolerate or resonate with the younger pokemon there.”

“I told you already you don’t have to send Rina. Mika is a good fit there too.”

“No, Yuuri. I know for a fact that your Gallade is a vital to your team. Kaito is powerful  enough to protect us in case something happens. And I guarantee you nothing will happen, not when Yuuko is here.”

He frowned. “But I’ll trade you a pokemon once I catch one, I promise.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever little brother, you should go now before it becomes noon.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes but still bid her goodbye while Viktor waved at her cheerfully. It turned out that the Yuuko and Takeshi were waiting for them outside the inn. The redhead sniffled and hugged Yuuri tightly and then gave Viktor the shovel talk. Takeshi clapped the Kalosian on the back tightly. A bit too tightly for Viktor’s taste but he understood where they were coming from. They just wanted to protect Yuuri and he fully agrees to that.

“Viktor, are you sure your Talonflame can handle both of us?” Yuuri asked nervously.

The silver haired man smiled at Yuuri and watched as his pokemon outstretched its wings and looked around. Lev, his talonflame, was larger than most of his species. Normally, adults don’t use talonflames as their flyers but Lev was part of his original team and he doesn’t really have the heart to replace him. But if Yuuri were to ride with him, he didn’t really know if Lev could carry them both.

“I’m not sure but if we can’t fit on Lev, you can always use Altaria,” he snapped his finger and gave Yuuri a bright grin. “That’s right! That can be your bonding activity with your Altaria!”

“Well…”

Viktor’s eyes narrowed and he immediately closed up on Yuuri, his bright smile turning a tad terrifying. Yuuri gulped and stepped back a bit but Viktor merely followed.

“After not using your pokemon for quite some time, you need to bond with them again. I have no doubt that they will still follow you but you have to make up for the time lost especially if you want to enter the Contest arena. That’s the coach’s orders!” He said all in one breathing.

Yuuri nervously laughed and nodded. “S-Sure Viktor.”

The ride to Mauville was relatively peaceful, with Altaria playing around by pretending to dive sharply, almost giving Viktor a heart attack. But Yuuri merely laughed and kissed the neck of his pokemon and said, “I almost forgot how playful Haruka could be.” Viktor’s Lev then decided that they were missing out on the fun so he decided to imitate Haruka.

The two trainers reached Mauville with hairs sticking up in different directions due to their pokemons’s playfulness. They went to the Poke Mart to grab some supplies first. When Viktor was about to let Lev out again, thinking that they would fly straight to the League after this, Yuuri grabbed his hand. Yuuri and Viktor’s eyes locked together for a minute or so.

 _Black? Brown?_ Viktor thought as he stared in the other man’s eyes.  Yuuri seemed to have realized what he had done.

“Oh Arceus! I’m so sorry!” He exclaimed, his face burning. “I just…Can we go to my parents’ house first? I just have to visit them and give them something.”

Viktor, who hadn’t quite recovered from what happened yet, blinked and nodded. “S-Sure.”

He kept on sneaking glances at Yuuri. He was pretty sure that the color of Yuuri’s eyes turned lighter underneath the sun. He just wanted to make sure. Yes, that was it. He had to make sure for the sake of coordinating Yuuri’s future outfits with his eye color. It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that his eyes looked beautiful.

* * *

They weren’t even that far in Route 117 when a Lampent floated in front of Yuuri as if it was assessing him. The two of them warily kept a hand on their pokeball in case the Lampent attacked. However, the moment a blonde teen came barrelling towards them while yelling, the Lampent looked exasperated and faded away into the trees.

“Reeeeeeed!” the guy bellowed but promptly stopped upon seeing Yuuri.

“Hey…I think I remember you.” Viktor murmured and rubbed his chin.

“ARCEUS! YUURI! YOU’RE HERE!” The blonde squealed and did a weird and funny dance.

“Minami?” Yuuri blinked and then smiled wryly. “…Are you crying Minami?”

“ _NO.”_

“…”

“YES!” Minami bawled and looked at Yuuri reverently. “ICAN’TBELIEVEYOU’REBACK!”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re finally back from retirement! I JUST—“ Minami then rubbed his eyes furiously before touching Yuuri’s hands. “I’M SO HAPPY!”

“Err…I gues I’m happy to see you too?” Yuuri replied and tried to step around the younger boy. “But I kind of need to go to my parents now.”

“MOLTRES’ SAKE! Okay! You two go back to Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki while I still try to find that little cretin!”

“Oh, okay, thank you Minami!” Yuuri then smiled at the man beside him. “Let’s go Viktor.”

Oh right, that was Shoyou’s son, Viktor realized as they walked. He knew he tended to be forgetful and to not hear what others are saying but for some reason it sounded like that Minami whispered ‘ _I love you_ ’ as he and Yuuri walked away. What an eccentric kid, he mused. It only took ten minutes of walking before they finally arrived in front of a fairly large house with an even larger backyard.

The next thing they knew was that the door slammed open and Yuuri was being hugged tightly by a small woman.

“Yuuri! Oh Yuuri! You’re back!” The woman said.

Yuuri scratched the back of his head and smiled. “Hi mom, yeah, I guess a visit has been long overdue.”

“Toshiyo! Toshiyo! Our son is back!”

“Oh! By the way mom, um, this is Viktor Nikiforov,” The bespectacled man said, prompting Viktor to wave at her. “Viktor, this is my mom.”

“Hello Mrs. Katsuki! It’s nice to meet you! You look much younger in person.” Viktor replied cheerfully.

Hiroko gasped and giggled. “Oh dear, you’re such a flatterer but thank you! Call me Hiroko by the way, Mrs. Katsuki is too formal. Come inside!”

Their house was connected to the lobby, where trainers usually dropped off their pokemon. It turned out that Yuuri’s parents used to work at the Hasetsu inn but eventually retired. Using the money Yuuri sent them due to battling, they were able to renovate the old and historical day care center in route 117 and re-open it. The day care was abandoned by the old owner due to them not having someone to take over. Years passed and other day cares appeared all over Hoenn, making the one in route 117 fade away in the background and only be known as a historical landmark as the first day care in Hoenn.

“Yuuri!” Toshiyo, Yuuri’s father, roared and clapped the man on the back. “It’s about time you visited your parents!”

Yuuri chuckled and hugged his father back. “Sorry dad, I got too…occupied. I’m finally here though. Oh, this is Viktor, he’ll be accompanying me to the League to get my trainer card back. Viktor, this is my dad.”

“I heard that from Mari,” Hiroko said with a frown. “I’m glad you changed your mind though. And I’m also glad Viktor managed to strong-arm you into rethinking your decisions.”

“Did Mari tell you that too?!” Yuuri yelped, a blush forming in his face.

“Oh no dear, we don’t need Mari to tell us that,” Toshiyo replied with a knowing smile. “You’re our son, of course we know that. You’re stubborn to a fault and Arceus knows no one can make you change your mind.”

Hiroko tittered and winked at Viktor. “Well it seems that times have changed dear. I’ve prepared lunch for you two. Come on!”

“Speaking of lunch, wasn’t Minami going to join us today?”

“Minami?” Yuuri asked as he and Viktor sat down in the tatami in front of the table. “We saw him outside a while ago chasing a Lampent. What happened anyway?”

“Oh dear,” His father sighed and sat down across them. “Lampent was an abandoned pokemon we found while we were in Mt. Chimney. We figured he was abandoned and not wild because Litwicks are rare in this region and Lampents even more so. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to control or make him follow orders. We’re trying to find possible trainers who want to adopt Lampent but no such luck.”

Viktor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and put a finger against his mouth. “That’s strange. Usually, trainers from Unova would love to catch Litwicks or Lampents because of their dual typing and their final evolution, Chandelure which has powerful special attacks. But it’s difficult to catch one since most people are more afraid of it stealing their souls than actually wanting to train them.”

“Viktor’s right. Lampents evolve to Chandelures and Chandelures are pretty strong fire types. It seems like that Lampent is ready to evolve so why abandon it?” Yuuri added.

“That’s what we want to know. But now that Lampent ran away, I’m not so sure if we can still find it an owner,” Toshiyo’s frown deepened. “Or if it even wants to go back.”

Hiroko entered with a tray of food. She then set the tray down, revealing bowls of steaming and hot katsudon. Yuuri’s eyes immediately went to his mother who sat down beside his father. Viktor looked at the aromatic meal curiously.

“But…mom,” He said hoarsely, his head low. “I haven’t won anything. I’m not even a trainer right now.”

Hiroko smiled and clasped her son’s hand. “You’ve worked so hard for many years. You probably haven’t eaten katsudon for years too. This is for all the in-betweens. The battles you won but weren’t able to celebrate with us. The achievements you got, this is for all of those Yuuri.”

Viktor felt like he was intruding in a private moment with the way Yuuri’s eyes glistened and how Hiroko and Toshiyo looked so content and happy that they finally saw Yuuri. The scene in front of him was so warm. This must be what a real family looks like, he thought to himself absently. Sure, Yakov was the closest thing he had to a father because he was always there despite his biological father living in the same region as him and also in the next city to his. Hiroko and Toshiyo felt nice and warm. Hoenn was nice and warm.

“—Viktor! You should try this!” He blinked and found Yuuri looking at him expectantly. “It’s my mother’s specialty!”

“Go on Viktor.” Hiroko said.

“O-Oh, ok…” He grabbed a spoon and took a bite of the said meal.

“ _VKUSNO!”_

* * *

Their supposed one to two hour visit to Yuuri’s parents became longer. By the time they were about to bid goodbye, a sudden wave of trainers appeared in the day care wanting to leave their pokemon there for the mean time. It turned out that majority of those trainers were actually Viktor’s fans so the Kalosian felt guilty and helped around instead. Yuuri had no choice because one stern look from his mother was all that it took to get him moving.

Hiroko and Viktor decided to handle the counter to keep order and to appease the fans who wanted to see Viktor while Toshiyo and Yuuri took care of the baby pokemon being transferred. It took at least an hour and 30 minutes before the trainers disappated and left. Hiroko ushered him into the back when Toshiyo appeared.

“Yuuri?”

Lo, there was Yuuri without a care in the world. He didn’t think it was possible for this man to be even more attractive but now here he was watching unabashedly as Yuuri cooed and talked to the baby pokemon. Yuuri wasn’t doing it in the way that other trainers did to their baby pokemon. He talked to them in such a loving way without even sounding stupid and _it was unfair_.

“There you go,” Yuuri beamed at the little Minun, who mewled and ran head first into Yuuri’s stomach. “You’re ready to play with the others outside go on.”

He watched the Minun waddle towards the open door Yuuri was pointing to. “You look experienced in this.”

“Ah, yeah, kinda,” he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “I practically raised almost everyone in my team ever since they were a baby. They were with me since their first pre-evolution form so I kind of know what to do.”

He whistled, impressed at what he said and happy that Yuuri was finally opening to up him. “Wow! Raising your entire team like that! Amazing!”

“Err, yeah, not really I mean…a lot of trainers do that you know? And I didn’t raise Tooru from the start either. I mean, Tooru doesn’t really have a pre-evolution.”

Viktor immediately closed the distance between them to the point that their face was inches away from each other and grabbed Yuuri’s hands. He had a passing thought of kissing the said hands but prevented himself from doing it. Another time, he told himself.

“Yuuri, you are absolutely one of the strongest trainers I have ever seen. Give yourself some credit please?”

The two of them remained like that for Arceus knows how long before the realization of how close they were sunk in. Yuuri yelped and immediately backed away a few feet, the redness of his face almost rivalling the color of a Krabby. Viktor blinked and coughed into his fist to hide the same blush he’s sporting.

“A-Ah, thank you I guess…The pokemon in my team right now are the ones I’ve had from the start. That’s why it was so difficult to move on when…” His voice trailed off sadly and his eyes lowered.

They both knew who he was talking about and they didn’t need any more words to know. Viktor grabbed Yuuri’s hand and rubbed it for comfort, which the other man didn’t seem to mind. They stayed like that for a few minutes, watching the other baby pokemon play. Yuuri had somewhat accepted Vicchan’s death and moved on but like any old wound, there are days wherein you remember what happened to have that wound. This was one of those days.

“Viktor, do you want to see the other pokemon in the day care?”

That was how they ended up sitting down underneath a tree in the large backyard. Viktor’s pokemon were either playing with the baby pokemon or lazing around and being bothered by younger pokemon. Yuuri’s on the other hand, almost suffocated him when they all ran towards their trainer, who they haven’t seen in a very long time.

“O-Oh Arceus, calm down guys!” Yuuri laughed as he was licked and cuddled by his pokemon.

His Mamoswine grabbed him using its trunk and put him on his head. Gallade grumbled and teleported next to him. Altaria crooned a tad smug that it was the first of all of them to see their trainer for the first time.  The Mamoswine noticed the Mimikyu on the ground crying so it also lifted the small ghost fairy type on its head.

“One, two, three, four…” Viktor counted and blinked. “Yuuri, didn’t you have five pokemon with you?”

Yuuri smiled as Mimikyu buried itself in his arms. “Yeah, I haven’t let out Tooru because he’s pretty big and would need to be in the water or else he’ll just grumble and be upset.”

Viktor suddenly perked up. “Why don’t we go to a beach? It’s near here right?”

“Yeah, it’s near—“

“Then let’s go later!” Viktor said with that ridiculously cute heart shaped smile. “I want to meet all of your pokemon Yuuri, speaking of you haven’t introduced us properly yet.”

“Oh, um, sure,” Yuuri patted the head of his Mamoswine. “This is Marin, caught her as a Swinub but now she’s big. This is Kenma. Phichit traded me this Mimikyu he caught in Alola. You already know Rina, then there’s also Mika, my Gallade, and finally Haruka, my Altaria.”

“Oh!” Viktor said. “You have a Gallade! I have one too! Well, a Gardevoir, but you get what I’m saying.”

“A Gardevoir huh,” Yuuri hummed and rubbed the head of his Gallade. “You didn’t bring her with you?”

“Oh no, I didn’t, this trip was meant to be a vacation so I didn’t bring all my pokemon,” he replied. “But I’m pretty sure she would love to meet your Gallade.”

Then suddenly, they saw Minami jump over the backyard fence and bolt towards them. He coughed and heaved, prompting Yuuri and Viktor to tell him to take a breath for a moment. The blond kid raised a hand and continued panting before slumping on the grass. Yuuri looked at Viktor pointedly, making him run back towards inside the house with a nod.

Yuuri kneeled beside him and rubbed his back. “Minami! What happened?!”

Minami gasped and rolled on his back. “The-The, uhm, the Lampent! I was about go home but then I saw the Lampent chasing two kids down the block. I tried battling it but I gave up after I realized I had one pokemon left, my Ralts. We were at total disadvantage so I had Hajime teleport us back here but Hajime isn’t that powerful yet I guess.”

“You made the right decision Minami,” Yuuri said and helped him up. “You should probably stay the night here for your safety. My parents wouldn’t mind and I’ll call your dad to tell him.”

“I-Is that alright?” Minami replied, voice shaking in awe. “You’re so kind Yuuri! You’re so kind I can totally hug you!”

Yuuri backpedalled a few steps and chuckled nervously. “Yeah, no problem, but you should go back inside. Just in case the Lampent comes back. I’ll round up the other pokemon here back to their pokeball.”

* * *

“Yuuri!” He turned around and saw Viktor running towards him. “Yuuri, Minami told us what happened. Is everything doing alright here?”

“Mhmm, yeah, I’m about to be done,” Yuuri answered and looked up from the paper he was holding. “I’ve returned practically everyone in the checklist. There’s only a few left and they’re the most difficult to find. It’s probably because they’re all small and still so young.”

“Let me see that…Huh, a joltik and an Azurill. I’ll help you find them so we can finish up sooner.”

It took them about five minutes to find the Azurill playing about in the small puddle near the fence. Yuuri sighed in relief and immediately threw the pokeball at the Azurill. The bespectacled trainer turned around to look for Viktor and tell him Azurill was in its pokeball when he heard a familiar annoying sound.

“You!” He sputtered as the Azurill flicked the pokeball and ran away. “You! Come back here! That’s your pokeball! Argh, wait! Mika, come out! Catch that Azurill please!”

The Gallade hummed and immediately ran after the little water pokemon. Yuuri rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned. Sure, baby pokemon were cute but they were an absolute nightmare to deal with.

“Maybe we should check the trees for Joltik,” he told Viktor. “I trust my Gallade to bring the Azurill back.”

After another few minutes, they finally found Joltik making a small electric web in the branch of a tree. Viktor sneakily approached the tree and threw the pokeball at bug pokemon. It shook once, twice, thrice, and finally Joltik was caught. They both sighed in relief upon realizing that there was only one more pokemon to catch before the day was done.

Suddenly, they heard a whimper echo and upon turning around, they saw the Azurill staying still, as if unable to leave the spot.

“That’s a good thinking on your Gallade’s part Yuuri.”

Yuuri blinked in confusion. “What is?”

“Using Mean Look, that way the Azurill can’t escape.”

The other man paled upon hearing what he said and dashed towards the little pokemon, leaving Viktor puzzled. Did he say something wrong; he thought to himself and followed the Hoenn native. He saw Yuuri kneel beside the Azurill and try to coax the water pokemon back to its pokeball.

“Come on Azurill, you need to come back before—“

“Yuuri! Look out!”

Yuuri looked away from the small pokemon just in time to see the Lampent from earlier spew large and terrifying flames from its mouth towards them. His eyes widened in shock as he recognized that move. Inferno, he thought as closed his eyes and immediately hugged the Azurill towards him. Oh Kyogre, was this how he was gonna die? Death by a fire type move from a rogue ghost fire pokemon?

Sure he was somewhat used to fire attacks considering he once had a powerful fire type (and boy did they have accidents) but Inferno was an extremely powerful move. The chances of it landing was also extremely low but if it did land, not only will the enemy by losing a lot of health but it was also a guarantee that they will be burned.

He gritted his teeth as he braced himself for the impact but opened his eyes when he felt water spraying against his back instead. Lo, there was Viktor’s Milotic and his Gallade in front of him, protecting him and Azurill from the attack. Despite the attack looking powerful—and it was, if Yuuri remembered that one time he battled a trainer whose pokemon has the same move—Milotic and Gallade didn’t seem fazed at all. Gallade huffed and fell into a battle stance. Milotic cooed and simply swished her tail.

He then remembered something. “Viktor! Don’t knock that Lampent out! If the Lampent gets knocked out, it will simply phase away. We have to catch the lampent or else it’ll just continue terrorizing people and pokemon.”

“Ah, shit, well then, I don’t think I have a pokemon that _won’t_ knock it out with a single move.” Viktor admitted. Yuuri bit his lip as their pokemon and the Lampent  continued sizing up each other.

“Azurill,” he murmured to the little pokemon. “Do you know foresight? Because if you do, then I would be very thankful and we can forget about what happened earlier.”

The Azurill merely blinked and cocked its head to the side. Yuuri sighed and eyed the ghost-fire type pokemon. Well here goes nothing, Kyogre give me luck just this once, he thought as he stood up.

“Azurill, use foresight!” He yelled with his eyes closed. He definitely did not want to see if his last minute plan failed.

The Azurill on the ground trilled and concentrated on looking at the Lampent. The latter pokemon was rather oblivious to the now glowing pokemon, and was still focusing on Viktor’s Milotic and his Gallade. He grinned and took out an empty pokeball from his bag.

“Mika! Use False Swipe!” He yelled as he readied the pokeball he would throw.

The Foresight from earlier made it possible to hit the ghost type with physical moves. Then Gallade’s False Swipe was enough to weaken it but not completely kill it. He threw the pokeball at the Lampent and hoped for the best.

He bit his lip when the Lampent escaped and moved to attack his Gallade. With quick hands honed from experience, he quickly instantaneously switched pokemon and released his Mamoswine. The ghost type attack— _was that Hex?_ —hit Milotic and missed his Mamoswine but it seemed like Milotic was still fine and can take more hits if Viktor wasn’t retrieving his pokemon yet.

“Thunderwave Alisa!”

A crackle of electricity resounded in the air. The next thing they knew is that the Lampent fell to the ground, crackle of electricity still echoing. For a second he was afraid that he shouted out the wrong commend and accidentally made the pokemon faint. But apparently, the Lampent was just paralyzed because it still tried to get up.

Yuuri threw a great ball this time. He and Viktor held their breath as the great ball shook once, twice, thrice…and then he pumped his fist in the air when the great ball stopped moving, indicating that the pokemon was finally caught.

“Yes!” He shouted and threw his arms around his Mamoswine. Viktor ran towards the and also hugged his Milotic before returning the pokemon to her pokeball. Afterwards, he grabbed Yuuri and tried to inspect him for wounds.

“Were you hurt? Did I not release Alisa fast enough? How did you know Alisa knew Thunderwave?” Viktor said worriedly and tried to make the other man turn around.

He yelped and chuckled. “I’m fine Viktor. Alisa and Mika took the hit for me.  Also, theinternet is a vast body of knowledge. Everyone has been trying to analyze what moves your pokemon knows so I guess I just got lucky this time. But I have been attacked by a pokemon before so no need to worry. But I must admit that Inferno looked particularly strong and would’ve been one of the worst attacks to happen to me if it did land.”

Viktor frowned and tugged him back to the house. “Yuuri! That’s not funny! I was really nervous you know. Palkia knows what I would’ve done if I was a second too slow.”

“I’m fine Viktor, I mean it,” the Hoenn native patted his hand. “I told you I’m fine. Thank you by the way, for that.”

“It’s alright. Consider it a repayment for you saving me before.” He replied with a wink before leaving to put Alisa’s pokeball in the Katsukis’ healing machine.

“Before?...” Yuuri echoed, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What the hell is he talking about?”

The Azurill in his arms cried out and tried to escape but he tightened his hold on it. The small blue pokemon whimpered but Yuuri rolled his eyes at its attempt to look cute. Well, yes, it looked cute but it won’t work on him.

“You think you’re so cute huh,” he pressed the center of the pokeball, making it larger. “You _are_ cute but you’re also such a troublemaker. I honestly don’t know how your trainer handles you. Go back in your pokeball now please.”

* * *

The two of them hadn’t noticed it but by the time the battle ended, it was already night time. They decided to stay the night especially after everything that happened. Hiroko looked very worried but sighed in relief when they told the whole story. Yuuri’s parents were alright with them staying the night and taking a much needed rest. They had no problem with it. However, the only flaw in their plan was that Minami was also staying the night. With Minami also staying, it meant that there was only one more room left.

“Oh dear, don’t worry Yuuri, Viktor, I’ll get another futon so you two can sleep.”  That was what Hiroko said and only noticed in their situation. Yuuri tried to claim the sofa instead but both Hiroko and Viktor stopped him.

In the end, Yuuri relented and decided to sleep in the same room as Viktor.  He would be in the same room as his childhood idol. Their futon had a respectable distance between the two of them but it was not enough to quell Yuuri’s beating heart. It was like there was no distance between them at all with the way he could hear Viktor’s breathing.

Just a few weeks ago he didn’t think that he was worthy of having his pokemon, of battling with them. A few months ago, he didn’t even think he was worthy of being a trainer and of continuing his job. A few months ago, Viktor Nikiforov was just a celebrity he idolized. He was just someone he saw in the internet and in television. He was someone better than Yuuri in all aspects and one of the people that inspired him to keep going forward.

But right now, Viktor was beside him, sleepy, bleary, tired, and vulnerable. He was oh-so human right now beside him as he continuously shuffled to be comfortable in their tiny futon. Right now, he was just Viktor Nikiforov, the man who saved him from a Lampent earlier, the man who argued and yelled at him weeks ago, the man who, for some reason, wanted to help him.  There was a saying how meeting your idols often ended up in disappointment but not with Viktor.  But this had to be a dream. One day, he would wake up and find it all to be fiction. He would wake up and Viktor would be gone and Vicchan would still be dead and six feet under.

“Yuuri,” Viktor murmured as he shifted to face him. “You should get some sleep. I can practically hear you thinking. We still have to leave early tomorrow.”

 “I—sorry, I’ll go to sleep in a few.” He replied and turned around so that his back was facing Viktor. He heard something shuffle and the next thing he knew was that Viktor was much closer than he expected, making his face burn.

“Viktor!”

“Shh, just go to sleep Yuuri,” Viktor muttered. Arceus he was so close. He could almost feel him against his clothes. “Tell me if you don’t want this. I’ll back off.”

“Uhm, it’s—it’s…it’s okay.”

He squeaked when he felt Viktor move even closer to the point where if his parents walked in on them they would think they were cuddling. He closed his eyes as he tried to make the blush in his face dissipate. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was so red that Viktor could see it.

“If you’re worried about us going to the League tomorrow, you’ll be fine,” The Kalosian mumbled. “I’ll be with you along the way okay?”

“So you’ll stay with me?” He said in a small voice. He honestly didn’t know how Viktor knew what he was thinking.

“Even if you have to battle Hoenn’s Elite Four to get your trainer card back, I’d battle with you.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

“Katsuki Yuuri?” the guy standing outside the door called out. “Wow, man, I never thought I’d see the day that I’d see the guy who cleared out the Battle Frontier. My son and I are huge fans! Can I take a picture with you?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” Yuuri moved closer to the guy and smiled as the guy raised his phone to snap a picture.

Right before Yuuri was about to walk towards the door, the guy’s phone rang, prompting him to stop Yuuri. “Excuse me, but I just received an order from the higher-ups. One of the Elite Four wants to meet you apparently.”

What could one of the Elite Four possibly want from him; he pondered as he stepped into the teleporter with Viktor and then walked towards the arena of the Elite Four with Viktor. He winced at the possibility of the Elite Four wanting to challenge him before letting him have his trainer card back. Technically, he could refuse and point out that according to the League Constitution it is highly discouraged to battle other trainers if you don’t have a trainer card for safety reasons. But that was the loophole he found while he was skimming the Constitution. Nothing there said anything about prohibiting it.

“Yuuri!” Mooroka yelled and chased after him, his trusty cameraman beside him. “You’re back! Does this mean you’re challenging the Elite Four again?!”

Yuuri gulped and backpedalled a bit. “Hello too Morooka, ah, about that…”

“Yuuri is actually here to get his trainer card again,” Viktor interrupted and slung an arm around his shoulder. “Speaking of which, we should probably get going now.”

“Thanks for that,” Yuuri whispered as they rounded a corner. “Mooroka tends to be a tad…passionate about this stuff. His beat is the League after all.”

“No problem. And you handled that better than I thought.”

“Mooroka is actually one of my preferred reporters. He’s not invasive unlike the other ones here in the League. He’s—“

“Katsuki,” a voice cut him off. “Good, you’re here.”

Yuuri’s eyes widened in shock. “Seung-Gil? What are you doing here?”

“We should talk inside. For privacy,” Seung-Gil nodded towards the room.  “Katsuki, are you sure you want Nikiforov to be here for our talk?”

“It’s fine. I trust Viktor.”

“Very well then.”

The room looked different. But then again, it had been a long time since he had been here. The last time he stepped in the battle room, the Elite Four who occupied this room still used Dark type pokemon. Seung-Gil must have been extremely strong for the League to have allowed him to use Electric Type instead of the traditional Dark type, messing up the traditional set-up of the Elite Four. Seung-Gil motioned for them to follow him into another room. This must be the place where the Elite Four of this arena took rests in between, he assumed.

“I will not be wasting your time,” Seung-Gil said as he leaned forward and folded his across his chest. “The League needs you back Katsuki. Something is happening again and we need all the help we can get. This is precisely the reason why I asked you if you wanted Nikiforov to be here. This is sensitive information and if I didn’t know better, if I didn’t know that the Kalos League trusts him enough, then I would’ve thrown him out.

As I was saying, do you remember Team Magma and Aqua? Well we have Neo-members of that ancient group trying to resurrect their ideals and their organization. Except this time, the leaders of these groups are better and more intelligent. They merged the two groups in order to form a new and cohesive Magma-Aqua group. Intelligence hasn’t reported about what their new name would be, just their recent plans and their purpose. But you probably already knew this. This is where you come in Katsuki.

You are very well versed in this group. Reports have said that you have already battled their admins and defeated them once. Unfortunately, they re-grouped the past few months you were away and hid from the League. With them terrorizing trainers and constantly playing whack-a-mole with us, the number of trainers that have reached the Victory Road had decreased. The number of trainers, who reached the League, even more so, and that means no one, has reached the first Elite Four for months.”

“This is...this happened all in a few months?” Yuuri said, still trying to process what the other trainer said. “I get that the League probably wants me to return but what does this have to do with you hijacking my process to get my trainer card back.”

“Because I would vouch for you in the name of the League, thus, shortening the time for the processing of your trainer card,” he replied and sat back. “In return, we want you to go to Kalos to negotiate with the Kalos League about both of our situations. If possible, contact their Champion.”

Viktor stiffened beside him but it went unnoticed by Yuuri. “What if I want to process my card like any other normal trainer then?”

“We both know you’re not any normal trainer Katsuki,” he chuckled. “You had the potential to be the Hoenn Champion. You _beat_ the old Champion Haruka years ago but declined the position. You wouldn’t be able to bear the thought of not battling and having an adventure for half a year. Us professional battlers have the same mind. We get antsy and we get the itch to battle. The League has been patient with you enough and has been waiting to get their hands on you. If you do not accept this, they _will_ hound you to become one of the Elite Four, if not the Champion.”

“Seung-Gil,” Yuuri replied calmly. “We both know that the League cannot force anyone to be in power nor can they just choose someone to be a part of the Elite Four. Especially if the Elite Four is still complete.”

Viktor cleared his throat. “Actually Yuuri, I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

“What do you mean Viktor?”

“Listen to him Katsuki,” Seuung-Gil said smugly. “He’s on to something.”

“There have been rumors,” Viktor said, hesitantly. Should Yuuri even learn this from him? “There have been rumors spreading that half of the Elite Four in Hoenn has been targeted and has been in the hospital for months.”

“I see the rumors have reached Kalos then. But what he said is correct Katsuki. Two of the Elite Four had to be released from their position because they were targeted by the Neo-Magma and Aqua. There had been three people in all of Hoenn who had been focused on and attacked by this organization. And out of those three, only you survived. This is why the League wants you back Katsuki.”

“Is that why Phichit was sent to Alola?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” the other man answered. “The Elite Four is down to two. Technically, it is down to one with me being the only one left in Hoenn and Phichit being in Alola. It’s either you become their ground troop and go to Kalos or be part of the Elite Four. Unlike the League, I’m giving you a choice here Katsuki. And you have to decide now.”

Viktor was then surprised when Yuuri shot back with a fiery passion he knew he always had but never really showed. “What if I don’t want both? All of us here know that there _will_ be an outrage if the League suddenly installs a new Elite Four member who isn’t a gym leader. And there will be an even bigger outrage if they try to pull that shit on the position of the Champion.”

“The League can pull strings—“

“Then the League is bullshit,” he spat out. Yuuri stood up, eyes burning with fury and his voice filled with anger. “There’s a reason I quit the League—“

“Oh sure, you didn’t quit the League because of your damned pokemon—“

“DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT.” By now, Yuuri was shouting in pure unadulterated fury. This was a Yuuri Viktor had never seen before. He had never been this mad, not even when they fought in the cave.

Viktor interrupted the two before it could escalate into something worse. “Seung-Gil. You had no right to say that. Of all people, I would’ve thought that a former gym leader and now Elite Four member would understand the importance of the bond of a pokemon and its trainer. Yuuri is not and will never be obligated to work for the League. Yuuri, let’s go.”

The two of them turned to leave but by the time they reached the entrance of the arena, they doors suddenly sealed shut. Yuuri’s hand balled into a fist and Viktor sighed and reached over to hold it comfortingly. It was clear that Seung-Gil would not be letting them leave without Yuuri’s decision.

“Mr. Seung-Gil! The arena went on battle mode! We can’t control it from here! It must have come from the external tech team.” The intern, Karen, shouted as she came out from the control panel from above.

Seung-Gil dialled a number on his phone, his eyebrows twitching angrily. “Jaehee, what happened, why did the arena go into battle mode?”

“Ah sir, it seems like we’ve encountered a technical malfunction. The security sensors in the arena seem to have identified Katsuki as a challenger because of the badges in his bag when he went through the sensors. We have no idea how this happened considering the fact that the internal tech team there should’ve been in full control but we’ll try to fix it right away—“

“Actually Jaehee,” he interrupted as an idea came to him and looked at the other two. “We’ll handle this.”

“What happened?!”

The electric type specialist sighed. “Technical malfunction. The arena is now in battle mode. But perhaps it’s better this way. Let us settle the matter the old fashioned way Katsuki. Let’s battle. If you win, you’re going to go off scot free. If you lose, you will take one of our offers. Be our agent to Kalos or be the Champion.”

“We don’t have to do this Seung-Gil. I respect you and you know that.”

 “Likewise Katsuki, we don’t have to do this. You just have to accept my offer. It’s the easier way out if you’re too blind to see it. Forgive me but I cannot let you slip our grasp. You’re too good of an asset and battler.”

“This has the same protocols as the other Elite Four arenas right?” Viktor asked and tilted his head. “Then if we defeat you, the doors will open. Yuuri will be free from what you want. Very well then.”

“Viktor don’t.” Yuuri stopped him with a firm glare. “You only have three pokemon with you.”

“Oh but you don’t,” he pointed out. He then walked closer to Yuuri and grabbed him by the shoulders. “I haven’t seen you battle with your own pokemon yet Yuuri. I know you miss it. How much longer will you stay in warm up mode?”

“I…”

“You want to battle, your pokemon want to battle. You don’t have to hold back due to your fear of hurting them,” He grabbed Yuuri’s hand and smiled. “You know you won’t hurt them. They want to fight alongside you.”

Just as Viktor was about to move away from him, Yuuri touched their foreheads together. “Watch me.”

“Karen, referee the fight.” Seung-Gil said as he retrieved a pokeball from his belt bag. A bright red ray appeared for a few seconds before a large pokemon appeared in front of them.

“Let’s go Ross!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohmygod...I'M SO SORRY. but let me start with an 'I'm sorry' and omg thanks guys and thanks to whoever recommended this fic in the victuurificrec tumblr haha
> 
> I know there's LITERALLY no excuse for me not updating for almost the whole semester :c But I hope you're all doing well considering the shitty stuff happening these days (my country just can't get enough of shitty events *sighs*)  
> I've been swamped with acads and in my uni it's a p a i n to get subjects AND pass the said subjects. We have to beg the professors to accept us and in order to be accepted, sometimes we have to showcase a talent. oh the beauty of prerog. I've also been swamped with community work and research papers sheesh.  
> Anyway, I'LL TRY MY BEST TO UPDATE MORE OFTEN NOW THAT MY SEMESTER HAS ENDED AND I HAVE 0 CHANCES OF HAVING SUBJECTS IN SUMMER. I sweaaar. 
> 
> So here are explanations about the Pokemon battles and stuff in this fic since I've tweaked some details that normally would never happen in the real Pokemon games  
> 1\. Azurill having Foresight. Some might call it artistic liberty or something but that's just me liking Azurill. AZURILL NEVER LEARNS FORESIGHT IN ANY OF THE GAMES. Afaik but correct me if im wrong  
> 2\. SO FAR HERE ARE THE POKEMON ROSTER  
> Yuuri’s pokemon: Lapras (Tooru M), Mimikyu (Kenma M), Mamoswine (Marin F), Gallade (Mika M), Tsareena (Rina F)--> but is given to Mamatsuki and Papatsuki to protect them, Altaria (Haruka F), Vicchan (Arcanine M)-> to another pokemon that will be revealed next chapter  
> Viktor's pokemon: Arcanine (Makkachin M), Talonflame (Lev M), Gardevoir, Milotic (Alisa F)  
> 3\. I don't recommend using Yuuri's pokemon roster if you plan to play the games. His team is unbalanced with 2 ghosts, 2 ice, and no electric pokemon. But hey this is Yuuri and he (or rather the author) must have somehow made it work (nvm the fact that Hoenn has a water type specialist named Wallace whose Wailord in Emerald is fucking annoying to beat even with Jolteon)  
> 4\. In this fic, the Elite Four rooms are basically arenas with their own resting rooms and control panels. That's the only explanation I can think of why the rooms are sealed shut when you battle the E4  
> 5\. Seung-Gil might seem like a jerk here but he's just desperate. Hoenn is in danger and well it's part of his job to protect it.  
> 6\. Yuuri's sixth pokemon is so obvious haha also you all thought Yuuri was the Champion eh? Well actually originally he was supposed to be but then I forgot where the original direction of the plot and had to rewrite a new one so ayun. He's powerful enough to be Champion anyway  
> 7\. "Why did Seung-Gil allow Viktor to hear that convo?" Viktor has friends in very high places (the League, E4, Champion). He's the reason why they were able to fly directly to the League instead of commuting towards there (remember, in this fic you can't fly directly there unless you have permission).


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri vs Seung-gil and oh boi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apparently it changed update date and im so sorrryyy! i honestly didn't mean it! I left the story settings/edit page on because I was editing some grammatical and spelling errors but I didn't see my cousin change the update date!! she said she just wanted to adjust the date to fit the current date hahaiszxt. Again, I'm so sorry for the confusion :c  
> anyway, some jargons:  
> OHKO- one hit KO (it's those moves that immediately make a pokemon faint with one attack)

 “Go Marin!” From Yuuri’s pokeball came the large Mamoswine, growling at the Ampharos in front of it.

Seung-gil clucked his tongue as he realized that the odds suddenly change with Yuuri having a ground type. Well then, he’d better step up his game. “Ross, use Light Screen!”

“Earthquake!”

Ampharos screeched and a translucent wall-like shield appeared in front of it for a few seconds before disappearing. Seung-gil made a move to switch his pokemon before the ground type attack hit but he wasn’t fast enough, making Ampharos faint.

Seung-gil clucked his tongue as he quickly released another pokemon.

“Anh Minh! Go!” After the flash of red from the pokeball disappeared, a Wash Rotom was revealed.

Yuuri frowned and tried to plan his moves. He wasn’t familiar with Rotom, even more with this one. He only knew that Rotoms were electric and ghost type pokemon so this wouldn’t really be able to damage his Mamoswine right? But it looked like a washing machine, how odd. He could swear he has read about Rotom and its different forms before. The article mentioned something about Rotom dropping one of its typing when it changes form.

Yuuri’s eyes widened as he realized what Seung-gil was planning to do. He immediately reached for another pokeball.

“Use Hydro Pump!”

“Marin go back! Go Haruka!” He swiftly switched pokemon and silently thanked Minako for training him to switch pokeballs quickly. The Altaria was hit by the powerful water attack but it didn’t seem to have been affected much due the pokemon being part dragon. “Use Draco Meteor!”

“Anh Minh!” The other trainer yelled as he watched the Altaria summon a large ball of pure energy before throwing it at his Rotom. His Rotom stood no chance against the attack and fainted.

Seung-gil cursed and released his next pokemon. “Win for us Bong Soon!”

“Draco Meteor again!”

“Try to dodge it Bong Soon!”

Yuuri bit his lip as the Draco Meteor missed. The attack was extremely powerful to the point of terrifying even but it was also also extremely inaccurate.  Trying to use it too many times will eventually lead to his Altaria being too exhausted to use the said attack anymore.

“Use Coil!”

“Try to stop it by—ah shit too late,” Yuuri said and tried to calculate what move to use next. “Counter that with Cotton guard!”

“Again Bong Soon!”

“Wait for it Haruka….” Just then, a wall of sorts became translucent for a moment before disintegrating. “Now! Earthquake!”

Yuuri waited for the Eelektross to faint after the attack but then he saw the pokemon levitating above the ground for a few inches. He cursed himself for his stupidity. How the hell can he even forget that Eelektross had the ability ‘Levitate’?! It was one of the few electric pokemon that was completely immune to ground type moves and due to that fact, many trainers tried to find their own Tynamo to evolve. Unfortunately, Tynamos were rather fragile at first and trainers would have to grind really hard in order to make that pokemon evolve.

“Use Crush Claw!”

The attack, made even more powerful due to the move Coil, made the Altaria cry out in pain but she still held on. Yuuri ordered her to use Roost, restoring almost half the energy and health she lost. But Yuuri knew he couldn’t use Roost forever so he had to make this last and turn the battle in their favour again. Eelektross has a fairly strong defense he couldn’t use Draco Meteor repeatedly, especially when he still didn’t know what other tricks Seung-gil had up his sleeves.

“Coil!”

“Back away from the Eelektross!”

“Now Hidden Power!”

* * *

“Ah Yuuri,” Viktor said and winced as he watched from the control panel where spectators usually stayed in to avoid injuries. “Altaria fainted. That hidden power must have been an ice type one. But Seung-gil has four pokemon left right?!”

Karen nodded.”Yes and Yuuri still has five left.” She then shifted her feet to look at the Kalosian celebrity. “Do you mind if I ask you something? Who do you think will win?”

“Who I think will win?” Viktor hummed and put a finger to his lip. “Of course I _want_ Yuuri to win. Seung-gil has been battling for a very long time. I reckon that he even trained more and harder the moment he got the notice about the Elite Four position. He really seems to be the type of person to do that.”

“You’re right about Seung-gil,” she replied and leaned back. “I’m actually a gym trainer from his gym. I was there the moment he received the letter. He didn’t really show it outright but I knew that he was happy. This was finally his chance and he wasn’t going to let it slip through his fingers.  He really deserves this position no matter how many people say he got it just because it was rushed.”

Viktor straightened up upon hearing the last bit. He had very good ears when it comes to rumours and the likes that concerned the League, not only in Kalos but also in other regions. Granted, people tended to speculate and doubt newly elected Elite Four members all the time, regardless of the region, but he hadn’t heard of it happening to Seung-gil. And the information about Seung-gil hadn’t even been broken to the public yet and the public were usually the ones who were very vocal and critical of the said members.

“Really? What happened?”

“Well you know how he became the newest member of Elite Four? I’d understand if this was the public judging him. We really can’t do anything about that, but it’s the other members of the League that judged him and that’s what we can’t accept. They were the ones who screened him and no matter how Arceus damned quickly he became a member, he was still screened using _their_ standards and _their_ tests. So we, the other gym trainers and I, don’t really understand their fuss.”

“It is rather common for disagreement to happen within League members and officials,” he said. “Even in Kalos, it happens. Just give it time; they’ll accept Seung-gil sooner or later. And it’s not like they can do anything about him. Seung-gil is now one of the most powerful and influential trainer in Hoenn because of his position.  Everything he does will be monitored by the media and the League. Every word he will say will be recorded and can and _will_ be used against him. It’s scary and lonely…being at the top. But he can handle it I’m sure.”

Karen bit her lip as the stadium shook once more due to the battle. “Going back to my question, who do you think will win?”

“I…honestly? I’m not very sure right now,” Viktor admitted. “I know Yuuri is powerful. I’ve seen it, I’ve experienced it. I’m seeing Seung-gil’s power right now too. Seung-gil’s attacks are quick, calculated, and deliberate. It’s like he already planned what to use even before battling. It’s like he expected to battle Yuuri and already laid out the possible events that will happen. Yuuri, on the other hand, has years of experience under his belt and thus, the natural instinct of a battler.”

“That…is a very astute observation but it doesn’t really answer my question.”

“Hush, let me continue,” he said with a wink. “Seung-gil being like that isn’t necessarily bad but the longer the battle drags on, which happens, the more transparent he’ll become. You can’t always OHKO the opponent so the moment Yuuri gets a breather from the relentless attacks is the moment Yuuri will strike back I’m sure of it. However, unlike Seung-gil, Yuuri wasn’t able to bond with his pokemon for months. It seemed like there’s no anger or hate from his pokemon from not being let out of their pokeball for months but we’re not espers or psychics so we’ll never know. Yuuri might be able to formulate battle plans and attack plans on the spot based on his instincts but if he can’t resonate with his pokemon, it’s all useless. But I choose to believe in Yuuri. Yuuri will win.”

Karen gaped at him, still taking in the new information she heard from the older man. She heard of rumours similar to what he said about Yuuri Katsuki but to actually hear it was true was a tad mind boggling. “So are the rumours about Yuuri true?”

“What rumours?”

“The ones that said that he was about to release his team and never return to competitive battling again?!” She exclaimed. “Man! Everyone was at edge! Everyone kept on looking for wild pokemon similar to his team in hopes of catching _his_ pokemon if ever he did release them. I knew they were bogus! No trainer like Yuuri would do that!”

Viktor made a wrangled noise. “Those rumours are so accurate and yet at the same time so off the mark. Yuuri would never do that! He’d die before would do that!” _He actually wanted to give up his pokemon and didn’t really mention anything about releasing them so technically he was correct_ , his mind supplied.

“So are _they_ true? The rumours?”

“I want to answer that but it’s Yuuri’s life and secret to discuss.” He answered with a smile.”Ah, looks like Seung-gil’s Eelektross got beaten. Now he’s down to three pokemon. Ah, make that two.”

* * *

 

“Kang Chul!” Seung-gil exclaimed as his Jolteon fainted after a powerful Earthquake attack. He clearly underestimated the speed of Yuuri’s Mamoswine. He must’ve trained it enough to raise its speed to like that. Although Jolteon managed to hit the Mamoswine with a Shadow Ball, it wasn’t enough to even put the Mamoswine’s health down to half and he underestimated its speed, thinking that he could slip another attack before the Mamoswine attacked.

“Shocked with Marin’s speed?” Yuuri, who must have read his mind, said with an amused smile. “People tend to do that.”

“You’re full of surprises aren’t you Katsuki?” Seung-gil replied and readied another pokeball. “ Tsk. Go Blaze! Use Blaze Kick!”

“Shit! Earthquake quickly!”

Due to Blaziken’s higher speed, its attack was able to hit first, and Yuuri knew that the chances of it OHKO-ing his pokemon was high. He gritted his teeth and prayed that Marin would hold on. He knew that he wasn’t exactly the winner for the Best Trainer of the Year award (heck, he wouldn’t even be a nominee), but he certainly hoped that his Mamoswine would endure the attack.

Please, please, please, Arceus hold on Marin, he thought as he saw the other pokemon gearing up to attack again. At this rate, Marin would faint. Just as the Blaziken was about to run towards the other pokemon to leave its last and final attack, the Mamoswine roared and stomped its feet, making the arena shake. Yuuri couldn’t believe it! His Mamoswine endured the attack and managed to attack back!

“Marin!” Yuuri exclaimed happily but then noticed the large pokemon swaying. His eyes widened and he ran towards her. The Mamoswine then fainted and fell to the ground with a loud thud. “That took a toll on you didn’t it? You did a great job. Go back now.”

Seung-gil couldn’t help but stare at his fainted pokemon on the ground. He gritted his teeth and gripped his last pokeball. This was his last and final pokemon. He sincerely hoped that Blaziken would run through Yuuri’s team and defeat them but it didn’t seem like it. Instead, his Blaziken was run to the ground by an Earthquake attack. He really should’ve seen this. Why didn’t he see this possibility? Were his calculations wrong? Where exactly did he go wrong?

“I…There’s no use following the plan now. We planned that we wouldn’t have to use you,” he whispered to his last pokeball. “Let’s go Glaceon.”

Yuuri stiffened as he saw the pokemon that was released. He had two pokemon that could handle this Glaceon but he’d prefer if he didn’t use the other one.  But it seemed like he would be forced to use the said pokemon. Normally, he’d just use his Gallade but his Gallade already fainted due to an encounter with the Eelektross. Should he even use that pokemon? Maybe he could use Lapras or Mimikyu instead? No, he knew that they would only drag the battle further and he wanted to end this as soon as possible. There was one pokeball on his belt that could help him win this battle.

“Let’s go Lampent!” With a flash of red light, came out the fire ghost type. While it did seem like the Lampent didn’t find anything wrong with following Yuuri’s orders outside of battle, Yuuri doesn’t know how it will react in a battle. That, and it seemed like Seung-gil’s Glaceon looked more powerful and more experienced as compared to his newly caught  Lampent.

“Glaceon use Blizzard!”

“Lampent dodge!” Yuuri sighed in relief when the attack missed. For all its power, Blizzard was a rather unreliable move as it was extremely inaccurate.

“Blizzard again!”

“Dodge—No!” Yuuri cried out when the Glaceon’s attack hit this time, making the Lampent shiver. It was clear that despite it being an ice type move, it still had an effect on the Lampent and had significantly weakened it, but not enough to make it faint.

“Blizzard!”

The bespectacled man scrambled for a move and immediately shouted whatever move he remembered. “Inferno!”

The Lampent looked at its owner curiously and cocked its head. The Glaceon was approaching it quickly from across the arena, body ready to pounce and attack with Blizzard but then the Lampent looked back at the Glaceon. The Lampent seemed to have noticed the other pokemon’s intentions and backed away and moved closer to his trainer.

Viktor’s eyes widened as he saw the Glaceon follow the Lampent, thus, also get near Yuuri and immediately ran back down. Accidents during battles tend to happen and they usually involve the trainer being too near to the pokemon and their attack. And Yuuri was too near to survive the Blizzard attack should it land.

“Inferno!” Yuuri yelled again, this time louder and more frantically

Fortunately, the Blizzard attack missed them by a large area. Viktor stopped midway from the stairs and gripped the railings. “Yuuri! Move away! You’re too close!”

“Katsuki, move!” Seung-gil echoed Viktor’s sentiments.

Yuuri nodded and moved further away from the pokemon. He looked back on the battlefield and saw the two pokemon sizing up each other. He couldn’t get close to them to heal his Lampent for Seung-gil might use another Blizzard or large coverage area attack. His Lampent couldn’t go back to him too because the Glaceon would only follow. His only option left was to attack. “Damn it, Lampent, Inferno again!”

“Shadow Ball!”

“Let’s play Hide and seek Lampent!” He shouted hurriedly. If the Shadow Ball hit, his Lampent would be done for. “Then use Inferno!”

The Lampent tittered and disappeared like the ghost it was. Glaceon and Seung-gil stiffened, immediately on guard for the ghost pokemon. Yuuri was then thankful for the dual typing of Lampent. If there was one thing this Lampent loved to do, it was to play hide-and-seek. It was one of the reasons why his parents insisted that he take the Lampent with him. The Lampent was too playful and mischievous for its own good and often disappeared and then reappeared out of nowhere. Minami clearly couldn’t handle and make the high levelled pokemon obey, not without the proper gym badges. His parents had their hands full with other mischievous pokemon.

“Glaceon, get ready with a shadow ball,” Seung-gil ordered. “That pokemon is bound to appear again in no time.”

Hold on, wait for another few seconds Lampent, Yuuri thought with clenched fists.  Glaceon looked around warily and moved back to its trainer. Seung-gil’s eyes darted around too. Few more minutes passed but this time, Glaceon moved away from its trainer and towards the sides. If Yuuri was right and his Lampent still acted like how it did whenever playing, the pokemon should be…

“I SEE YOU LAMPENT! NOW INFERNO!”

Lampent suddenly appeared below Glaceon and lifted it before throwing it away and releasing bursts of fiery hot flames towards its direction. Glaceon landed with a thud on the wall and keened weakly while trying to stand up. Yuuri took this chance to attack again.

“Glaceon!”

“Now show them a real Shadow Ball!”

A ball of gray light was emitted from Lampent’s mouth and went careening towards Glaceon. Within a second, Glaceon fainted and the battle was over. Seung-gil stood in shock for a few seconds before running towards his fainted pokemon. He sighed and patted his pokemon softly before touching its pokeball to it, making it return.

“W-We…we won,” Yuuri whispered to himself. Slowly, a grin appeared on his face. “We won Lampent! We won!”

Lampent trilled and did a funny little dance by swaying side to side. Viktor sighed in relief and looked at Yuuri affectionately. He had a feeling that Yuuri was going to win but he hadn’t expected him to win through that. He hadn’t expected Yuuri to use his pokemon’s hobbies in order to turn the battle around. He ran back down in glee before tackling Yuuri to the ground.

“You won Katsuki.”

“I guess I did.”

Seung-gil sighed and leaned against the wall. “This only proves that the League will be losing a lot if you refused. But a deal’s a deal. I will stop hounding you and will do my best to prevent the League from doing the same thing. Prevent. I cannot make any promises though. In the end, it still depends on the higher-ups.”

“Oh, and help Yuuri with his trainer card too?” Viktor piped in.

“Viktor!”

“Nikiforov, you’re pushing it,” Seung-gil warned but after a few seconds, he sighed again. “Fine, it will be a waste if a trainer like Katsuki cannot battle simply because of formalities.”

Viktor grinned and tightened his hug on Yuuri. “See? Now you can be rich again by defeating elementary and high school kids!”

“Viktor,” Yuuri said and pointedly looked at him. “Thank you Seung-gil I appreciate it.”

“There is no ‘appreciation’, this is merely me holding my part of the bargain.”

A loud sound echoed in the arena, signalling that the doors had been unlocked. Viktor and Yuuri make a move to leave the area as Karen ran down from the control panel and towards Seung-gil, looking a tad nervous. She then bit her lip and whispered something to the man. Just as Viktor and Yuuri was about open the doors and leave, Seung-gil shouted.

“Wait! Don’t use that!”

“Mr. Katsuki! How do you feel now that you’re the Champion of Hoenn?”

“Mr. Katsuki! Everybody says that they practically expected you to be the next Champion! What can you say about that?”

“What can you say to your fans out there?”

Yuuri froze in shock as the reporters swarmed him. Viktor’s eyes widened and immediately shielded him with his body from them. He gave his usual smile for this kind of events and conspicuously pushed Yuuri to go back inside. The other man snapped out of his daze and looked at Viktor nervously.

“Viktor! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in Kalos?”

“Viktor! Why were you with Yuuri Katsuki while he was battling the Elite Four?”

“Viktor! Viktor! What can you—“

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Viktor said with his ‘it’s-show-time’ smile. “Yuuri is currently tired right now. He and his pokemon would very much like to rest. We could answer your questions in another time perhaps. But as of right now, he hasn’t even registered his pokemon in the Hall of Fame yet so one at a time please.”

He then went back inside the arena, his arms wrapped around Yuuri’s shoulders as the doors slid shut again. Once inside, Yuuri gasped out loud and fell to his knees, drawing everybody’s attention. Seung-gil and Karen ran towards him while Viktor dropped beside him worriedly.

“Yuuri are you okay?” Karen asked and offered a bottled water.

“Yuuri breathe with me okay, breathe with me,” Viktor said, his worry increasing with each second passing with Yuuri breathing heavily and hyperventilating. “ _Solnyshko_ , I’m here, breathe with me.”

“Viktor I—“ then like a dam breaking, Yuuri’s tears fell and he sobbed. “I—I don’t want this! What’s—What’s happening?! Viktor! Why are they—Why am I Champion?! I don’t understand, I don’t, no, oh no, I don’t—“

“Yuuri!”

* * *

“How is he doing?” Seung-gil asked as he leaned on the doorway, his arms folded on his chest.

Viktor bit his lip and brushed Yuuri’s bangs away from his eyes. “Better. He doesn’t seem to have difficulty in breathing now. I guess he was tired from the battle and then hyperventilated and all those reporters and people crowding in on him didn’t help one bit.”

“Karen already healed his pokemon, he can get them in the machine inside the Hall of Famers’ room once he wakes up.”

“Oh no, you’re not leaving until I get answers Seung-gil,” Viktor said darkly and immediately moved towards him. “How the fuck did the reporters know that Yuuri was here? No, how and why the flying fuck did they think he was Champion?! If this is another one of your League’s plans—“

Seung-gil pushed Viktor back and glared. “Believe me when I say I had no part in this. Confronting Yuuri was planned but battling him was not. I also have no idea why or how they reached that conclusion. Yuuri wouldn’t even be the Champion because he didn’t go through the whole Elite Four properly.”

Viktor then stopped in his tracks. “You mentioned something earlier.”

“I mentioned a lot of things earlier.”

“No, no, something about you being the only Elite Four in Hoenn right now. or”

“Yes I am,” he said slowly. “I am the only one right now, with Minako still thinking over our request for her.”

“Then that means…”

“Oh for fucking Arceus’ sake!” Seung-gil cursed and almost punched the wall. “Who the fucking hell programmed this arena to even cover loop holes?! So that’s why the press knew.”

“What do you mean?”

“In all of the arenas of the Elite Four, cameras are set-up to show tid-bits of the current challenger’s battles to the public based on the agreement they signed. But since Yuuri bypassed the main entrance, the arena must have thought that he already agreed. Also, it is usually tidbits of the battle against the last Elite four and the Champion that is shown to the public to maximize the security of the challenger, the Elite Four, and the Champion and their pokemon. _That_ must be how the press and public knew.”

“This still doesn’t make sense.” Viktor muttered.

Seung-gil groaned. “ _Nothing_ is making sense right now! Karen! Call someone, _anyone_ from the League! Quickly!”

“Y-Yes!”

“So that’s what happened…”

“Yuuri!” The Kalosian gasped and quickly went back beside him. “Are you alright? How do you feel? Do you need water?”

“I’ll leave you two to talk.”

“Viktor?” Yuuri said weakly and tried to sit up.

“Don’t force yourself, it’s okay if you lie down for a while,” he replied. “You must still be tired.”

“I’m feeling better now, just a bit sore,” he then lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“Oh Yuuri…”

“You should leave,” he gasped out and stood up. After that, he began pushing Viktor towards the door. “You should go back to Kalos. You shouldn’t get yourself involved in this clusterfuck.

“Why are you trying to make me leave?”

“You shouldn’t—“

“Yuuri listen to me—“

“Viktor don’t—“

“Listen to me for a second—“

“I don’t want you to see my shortcomings!” Yuuri shouted and gripped his shoulder, his eyes closed tightly. “The longer you stay here, the more you’ll see why I don’t deserve to be Champion. The more you’ll see how much of a failure I am as a trainer. The more you’ll be disappointed.”

By now, tears were streaming down his cheeks again. But Yuuri continued despite that. “I’ve secretly wondered when you will go back. I’ve tried to prepare myself for that. But I can’t. Because even if I still don’t understand why you’re still here with me, I like it. Even if I don’t understand why someone like you would stay with someone like me…I like it.”

“Yuuri,” Viktor sighed and squeezed the other man’s hands. He then lifted his hands hesitantly before placing it on his cheeks to rub some of the tears away. He didn’t know what to say but somehow his mouth found the words. “I like it too. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like it. I wish you could see yourself the way others see you. I wish you could see how great of a person and trainer you are. How ingenious you are in battles. How caring you are, how devoted you are, how inexplicably wonderful you are. I wish you could see how I saw you these past months I’ve been with you.”

“I’m not the perfect person you think Viktor.”

He scoffed and then smiled at him. “You think I don’t know that? I’ve had a screaming match with you in Meteor Falls. I’ve seen you stumble and be clumsy in your home. I’ve seen you cry and grieve over Vicchan. I’ve seen you make bad decisions and almost abandon your pokemon. I’ve seen you defend a baby pokemon. I’ve seen you command a pokemon you have barely bonded with in battle and win the said battle. I’ve seen a lot of Yuuri Katsuki in just a few months. And I want to see more of him.”

“Even if you did, you’ll have to go back to Kalos one day,” Yuuri replied and shook his head. “It’s inevitable. Kalos would miss you and…and it’s your home and since I’m now Champion, I have to be stuck in Hoenn doing paper work and…we should end this while it’s still early.”

Viktor could feel tears prick his eyes but he took a deep breath and leaned back. He can’t believe Yuuri is doing this to him. He can’t believe that just when he thought that their relationship was finally progressing and he was finally learning more about this man, he suddenly decided for the two of them. He couldn’t believe how much those words hurt him despite only knowing Yuuri for a few months and how much it affected him.

“I’ll be honest with you,” he started and Arceus he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “I saw you in Mt. Pyre first. You were bawling. I thought you were about to jump. Then the next day you were still there. You swam towards Mt. Pyre everyday relentlessly. I saw myself in you but I thought to myself, hey, at least I still have my pokemon alive and well.

Then you saved me. You battled so beautifully. More beautiful than how other Coordinators would battle. And you commanded my Makkachin so well. That caught my attention because Makkachin never obeys someone in battle other than me. It’s not possible at all. You sparked my interest again. I searched for you all over Hoenn. I wanted to know you. Through my search for you, I lived again. I experienced how it was to travel and enjoy again. And you have so much potential you never knew not only in battling but also in Contests so I was so mad when you told me you were going to give up. I refused to believe that someone like you would willingly abandon years of bond with pokemon just like that.

I got to know the real Yuuri Katsuki more. I got to know his favourite meal and tea. I got to know his pokemon. I got to know his parents. I got know some of his insecurities and of his past. But most of all, I got to know the people who believed and loved him. I met the people who looked up to you and believed in you. Those are the people who absolutely have no doubts that you’d be a good Champion. We are the people who will stay close to you and love you and we’ll be there every step of the way. I wish you could see that too. I wish you could love yourself too.”

“Y-You’re crying Viktor.” Yuuri said and moved to touch the hair covering half his face.

“Of course I’m crying!” Viktor snapped. “I just poured my soul to you! And I’m mad! You just told me to stop this—us! Whatever we are even! You don’t get to decide what I do in my life! If I want to stay with you then I will! I’m living more in Hoenn than I have ever lived in Kalos.”

“Viktor I…”

“I understand if you don’t want to be the Champion. But also understand that I’ll still be by your side even if you were. And you’re not going to get rid of me easily.”

“…do you really think I can do this? Be the Champion?”

“I have no doubts _solnyshko_ ,” he then winked. “Being the Champion isn’t as what it cracks up to be. Let’s just say I know it very well.”

The door opened and revealed Seung-gil with a few more people. Behind him were Celestino, Karen, Morooka, and Minako.  He folded his arms in front of him. “He is a bit right Katsuki, so don’t be too scared.”

“Yuuri!” Minako said and immediately ran to him. “You! What did you do to Yuuri?! I don’t care if your face is insured or is worth millions of dollars but if you made Yuuri cry—“

Yuuri chuckled waterily, his voice still a bit hoarse from the crying earlier. “It’s fine Minako, and it’s not like it’s difficult to make me cry.”

“I have talked to the other higher-ups Yuuri,” Celestino said and sat down on the couch. “Apparently, you became Champion because Haruka finally retired to live with her husband Brendan. Thus, the Champion position is vacant and whoever defeats the Elite Four is automatically the Champion.”

Minako nodded. “But don’t worry; we’ll try to rectify the situation quickly. But for now, you’re the Champion in the people’s eyes. We’ll try our best not to let other information leak and that’s where Morooka comes in. We’ve already explained to him our situation.”

“Although rumours have been spreading about the Elite Four member attacks, there are no confirmed reports yet so we can use this to our advantage,” Morooka chimed in. “I can contact my station to release the news I’ve already written in support of the situation.”

“I also don’t like it, it feels like I’m lying to the public.” Yuuri admitted. He couldn’t bare the fact that he would technically be an imposter. He wasn’t actually the Champion but he’d be acting like one.

“We don’t like it either but it must be done Yuuri,” Celestino replied. “If the League appears weak and dismantled to the public, the Neo Magma and Aqua will grab this as a chance to recruit more members and attack the League. And _you_ and your family Yuuri.”

The two of them stiffened upon hearing that. Yuuri’s parents were already having a difficult time staying safe especially since they had already been attacked by Neo Magma and Aqua. That was the reason why they made a stop over to drop Tsareena to his parents. With Yuuri as the Champion now, he and his friends and family were now more vulnerable and exposed more than ever. Yuuko and Takeshi could handle themselves, and thus by extension Mari too since they all lived in the same area. But his parents were his main concern.

“This is exactly why I don’t want to be Champion,” Yuuri groaned. “I haven’t even done anything yet and I’m already endangering my loved ones!”

“It’s alright; we’ll send some Agents to your parents to protect them. We’ll guide you along the way Yuuri.”

“But what if they still get hurt?! Neo Magma and Aqua has a way of hiding under our noses and—“ he was cut off when a pair of hands suddenly squished his cheeks.

Viktor smiled at him warmly and patted his cheeks. “Remember what I said earlier?  We’ll stay close to you. We’ll be there every step of the way.”

“Like we’ve said, you don’t have to worry Yuuri,” Minako said with a smile. “Viktor is right on both accounts. We’ll be there _and_ being the Champion is not as difficult as it sounds. It just so happened that you’re one of the few Champions whose name and identity was exposed to the public. Everybody has been guessing this to happen so the hype will die down in a few days. They’re not really surprised. And we already contacted the other Elite four who are in the hospital to inform them of what happened. They will make stories to match up with ours.”

“But I’m fake!”

“Technically Katsuki, you’re not.” Seung-gil replied drily.

Viktor put a finger to his lips and winked at him. “The Elite Four actually does more work than the Champion since they get to battle trainers more. Thus, more paperwork for them. Being the Champion is not as glorious as what people make it seem like.”

“If you say so…”

“Speaking of which,” Celestino interjected. “You have your first Champion duties next week. The annual World Tournament will be held in Kalos this time and all of the Champions were suddenly required to attend. “

“That’s a bit odd,” Yuuri said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “They don’t really require the Champions to attend. Usually they only require a few gym leaders as representative for each region.”

“That is exactly why it’s odd. But we never really know what’s going on in their heads. You might be asked to battle though so be prepared.”

“Speaking of which!” Minako butted in and poked Yuuri in the chest. “Include a damned electric pokemon in your team! You’ll be wrecked once you encounter a powerful water type and you will have _nothing_ to counter that.”

“But I love my team the way they are!”

“Then at least an electric attack!” They all chuckled. The group chatted for a few more minutes but eventually, they left and Seung-gil stayed on his office. Viktor and Yuuri decided to leave through the door inside the Hall of Fame room.

Viktor then suddenly leaned on Yuuri. “Well would you look at that, it looks like it won’t be me who will have to go to Kalos soon.”

“Oh no Nikiforov, if I’m going to Kalos, you’re going to come with me,” he bumped his hips against his. “You don’t get to be a responsible trainer this time who minds his money, you’re going to tour me around Kalos you hear me?”

His blue eyes softened at the words and a genuine smile appeared on his face. “It would be my pleasure _solnyshko.”_

“What does that even mean?”

“I’ll tell you once we’re in Kalos.”

Yuuri sighed and looked outside the window where the vast expanse of the seas and skies greeted him. Pelippers flew around and flocked in the cliff nearby. The scene was so Hoenn. Hoenn was the only region he has travelled. He wanted to travel to other regions when he was younger but getting a job in the League, specifically, in the Battle Frontier, kept him on this region. He had no idea what was waiting for him in Kalos now that he’s the Champion. That was another reason why he didn’t want to be the Champion. He didn’t want to be chained down to one place only. He knew for himself that he was a free spirit and travelling was what he loved.

Oh the irony. He wasn’t the Champion before but he never got the chance to travel outside Hoenn but now he was the Champion, he was given the chance to go to another region. How the fates have played him.

“Kalos huh?”

* * *

“So this is what the shitty old man has been doing these months huh?” he sneered as he scrolled through the news in social media.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN VIKTOR STILL CAN’T BE CONTACTED?!” An old man yelled to his phone, his face red and the veins on his neck bulging. “His vacation was supposed to be over months ago! He has duties here! In his region! I will personally feed his soul to Yveltal once I see him!”

“Calm down you’re too loud,” he then gritted his teeth. “Viktor will be back soon. Probably next week.”

“He should be if he knows what’s good for him!”

“The World Tournament is next week. Katsuki is going to go here too. And that means Viktor will too.”

“Katsuki? What’s Katsuki got to do with the Tournament?”

He scoffed and gripped his phone tightly. He had half a mind to throw it somewhere far way. Particularly, at the large poster of Viktor in their gym. “That fucking pig is Hoenn’s new Champion. I can’t believe it. And Viktor has been with him for the past few months. He won't answer his calls but he's still as active as ever in social media. That idiot.”

“He's got to find a way to inform people he's still alive right?” Mila suddenly appeared and hugged him from behind. “We’re back Yura!”

Yuri sputtered and tried to push her off of him but she was stronger than him. Damn this woman and her strength. “What the fuck?! No! Go back to that camp! Actually, go spread your terror in Alola!”

“But I got stronger there see?” She replied happily and lifted the younger trainer with ease, making him struggle and shout.

“DAMMIT! PUT ME DOWN MILA! YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING EMBOAR!”

Georgi then approached Yakov, who has now ceased shouting at his phone and was now rubbing his temples. “Yakov, are the plans still going to push through next week? Viktor isn’t here yet.”

“Oh he will,” Yakov replied darkly. “But you and Mila will still go with me as representatives of the gym whether Viktor comes or not.”

“What about Yuri?”

Yakov looked at the blond who was still in the air due to the redhead trainer. He felt another headache come in. “He’s still too young and the Tournament might be too dangerous for him. He’ll stay here.”

“He won’t like that very much.”

“It doesn’t matter if he likes it or not. The World Tournament is more than it seems and that’s why he’s staying. There’s no renegotiating it. Now back to your training Georgi!” Yakov ran a hand down his face. "Why do I have trainers like these? Viktor must have cursed me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so ayun here's another emotion roller coaster chapter. I didn't think this would be how it originally would end but it seems like the story wrote itself and bam here is the chapter. I'm fine with it though. I first wanted to make this just 3-4 chapters and extremely lighthearted but I don't know what happenedddd hahaha. 
> 
> So for the timeline, I'll be making a few changes to fit latest chapter. Let's just say that Viktor had been in Hoenn for 3-4 months. His vacation is too long man. Too long. The development between the two happened during the timeskip. The large timeskip happened after Viktor promised to make him into a great Coordinator. Which is the end of chapter 4. So chapter 4-->timeskip-->chapter 5
> 
> Edits made: 2 weeks deadline for trainer card is charged to 6 months for future purposes
> 
> I also wanted to insert a chapter or two before school starts again so here it is tadaaa. I might also actually write a stardew valley/harvest moon inspired one shot sometime along late june or july. Thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> so I originally wanted to make a one-shot pokemon au but it turns out that my creative juices run out after 3K+ words. I've only managed to play up to Black 2/White 2 so I have no idea what was changed in the 3ds versions of pokemon and bulbapedia is my bestfriend in making this fic.  
> The moment I posted this fic means that I've already started on the next chapter and might be 1/4th done lmao. I'm still not sure on continuing it because no matter how much I say i write for fun, I'm still a thrash who wants to be validated lol so the update of the next chapter will depend on whether people actually want this to continue


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